Ofsted says Cranford Community College is ‘Beyond Outstanding’
Pupils, Staff, Members of the Academy Trust Board and Parents at Cranford Community College are celebrating after being inspected by Ofsted in October 2012. The school is described as providing ‘a first-class education for the local community’.
Cranford Community College has been awarded the highest possible grades in every aspect of its work and all 5 key Ofsted judgements are graded as ‘Outstanding’ for Pupil Achievement and Progress, Teaching and Learning, Pupil Behaviour, Leadership and Management, and Overall Effectiveness.
The Sixth Form was also judged to be outstanding as was the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils.
In the feedback, Inspectors told Headteacher, Kevin Prunty and Chair of the Academy Trust, Roger Owen, that the school was ‘beyond outstanding’ and repeatedly told them that what they had seen was ‘exemplary’ and ‘outstanding plus’.
Inspectors were impressed by the high expectations and high aspirations in the school, the pupils’ exemplary attitudes to learning, their outstanding behaviour and the rich, innovative and engaging curriculum.
Mr Prunty said ‘I am always very proud of what the pupils and staff achieve but it is absolutely great for their efforts and talents to be recognised in this way. I thank everyone who has contributed to the journey which got us here, for creating a wonderful, happy, ambitious school and for helping us to
achieve our mission of ‘Excellence in all areas’. We serve a community with few advantages which makes the rôle of the local school even more important. An excellent education creates advantage which is why having this school recognised as an ‘outstanding’ school is a major asset to our community.’
Cranford Community College became an Academy in April 2011 having improved continuously since Mr Prunty, whose leadership Ofsted describes as exceptional, became Headteacher at the school in 2002. Pupils at the school performed well above the national results this summer with over 71% achieving 5+ GCSE passes at A*-C including English and maths with one quarter of all grades being A* and A and with a 100% pass rate at A level where more than half the grades were A*-B and with the highest proportion of A* grades ever achieved..
Cranford Community College is the first secondary school in the borough to have been inspected under the new ‘raised bar’ inspection framework which came into force nationally on 1st September 2012. The new framework makes it significantly harder for schools to be graded as outstanding, gives little or no notice by informing the school no earlier than the afternoon before inspectors arrive, and tests whether what inspectors see during the inspection is typical and true over time.
The Ofsted report is available to read in full on the school website www.cranford.hounslow.sch.uk
Kevin Prunty (Executive Headteacher)
March 2013
Post 16 Senior Maths Challenge Successes
The Senior Maths Challenge is aimed at the top third of students in years 12 and 13. The challenge involves answering 25 multiple choice questions in one hour and a half and is sat in school under normal exam conditions. The challenge was held on the 7th November 2012, involving our top maths students. The top 60% of students nationally receive a gold, silver or bronze certificate in the ratio 1:2:3 and each institution receives a Best in School certificate. Top performing students are then invited to take part in follow on rounds and the very best can represent their country in the International Mathematical Olympiad. Around 1000 top scorers in the Senior Challenge are invited to take part in the British Mathematical Olympiad Round 1 and around 2000 are invited to take part in the Senior Kangaroo. The ratio 1:2:3 means that the top 10% get a gold, the next 20% get a silver and the next 30% get a bronze. These awards will be a great asset for UCAS applications.
Luisa Ara (Head of Maths)
Black History Month - Year 8 mark Anti-Slavery Day
“I liked making the wall hanging. It was really fun and we all enjoyed it. We all wrote messages, poems, and what we think about people all over the world working as a slave. Anti-Slavery day was on 18th October 2012. It was great fun”.
Thinurie Pathirage (8T)
“We decided to create an assembly about anti-slavery. We then decided to create a wall hanging. It took us three weeks to finalise the masterpiece and everyone in 8T was enthusiastic and ready to colour and draw. We gathered quotes from influential people such as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. We made suggestions about continuing the message including sending a letter to the Prime Minister. In the end, all the form created a sensational assembly giving all the information necessary about Black History Month”.
Suman Kumar (8T)
Akash Mair (plus Best in Year Award and Best in School Award)
Shaheer Khan (plus Best in Year Award)
Alham Ahmad
Sonela Selgjekaj
Afia Khan
Ashvinder Kundi
Year 12 Year 13 Bronze Award (top 40% in the country)
There is some very exciting news in the Art and Technology department. We have arranged with Linda Newcombe, a lecturer at the University of West London to have some participants in the National Saturday Art club. We now have 4 students attending the club on Saturday which is funded by the Sorrell Foundation. The students involved are Imran Noorabdul, Jade Cook, Mariam Saleh and GurginaSidhu. This is an exceptional opportunity for our students as they have already exhibited a piece of work at the V&A Museum in November 2012. There will be more opportunities open to our students as the weeks go on. This has been a valuable experience for our students and this is fantastic for our school and adds to our SMSC (social, moral, spiritual and cultural) value.
Pirmjeet Mehay (Head of Art Department)
“I have met a lot of new people and it has been a good experience. I have learnt new techniques that I have applied to my school work. It has been a very unexpected experience like when we went to the V&A and I saw a lot of artwork and my own on display. Our work really stood out because of the colours. It has enhanced my experience as it has shown me new opportunities. I hope to continue this experience if I can next year”.
ImranNoorabdul (year 11)
“I like the University as it’s fun and you can be yourself and be creative. It was good to meet different types of students with different art talents. We learn a lot of different techniques in the type of artwork we are doing. It was really exciting knowing that my work would be up in the V&A. I was excited on the day, we went in our group to see our work on show. My mum was really happy for me. It is a great opportunity.”
Jade Cook (year 11)
“It’s fun and it’s really creative. We’ve already learnt a lot of new techniques and different skills. At first being at University was scary as I did not know anyone but eventually I met a lot of new people. It’s a really good opportunity because they are allowing our work to go up in exhibition it is really cool. It was cool to have my work in the V&A”.
Gurgina Sidhu (year 11)
“I feel grown-up attending University and I find that it is a great experience and will help me when I am older. The fact that I enjoy art makes this excellent as I learn new techniques. It also builds my confidence as I can socialise with others and be myself without feeling scared. It is educational and can benefit you but it’s also a fun experience. There were a lot of people at the V&A and I felt excited that I was able to share my work with other people. My mum felt proud of me”.
Mariam Saleh (year 11)
Cranford Students Doing Something for Someone Else
Week 2012; a vision which inspired Cranford students to become active and socially engaged by uniting together into a 9 year project to raise money for orphans and needy children around the world. With more than 100 institutions across the UK coming together to make Charity Week happen and to be a part of it, was an amazing opportunity. There was a moment when we thought we couldn’t even raise £100 but with the effort and commitment, hard work and dedication shown by the students it was incredible. From street collections, to bake sales, to knocking on doors in the rain; we didn’t just achieve our target but we exceeded it.
Charity
Once the week was over and all the money was banked, all the institutions in London were eagerly awaiting the London Annual Dinner. More than 800 students from universities, schools and colleges engaged in this blessed night and together raised a record breaking total of £445,551.75 in one week.
Considering it was our first time, not only did we raise a whopping £662.58 but Cranford Community College came 4th out of 22 schools and colleges. It was a breathtaking achievement and with this we would like to leave a legacy at Cranford. Hopefully future students can rise up to the challenge of CW2013 and beat our own record. “Make a difference together”
Aneesa Sheikh (year 12 - Former Institutional CW Rep)
The Enterprise and Employability students in year 10 looked into planning and running an event as part of a team. They worked together from developing a concept to collecting resources and selling tickets. They ran two events; “Gunging the Teacher” which helped raise money for Children In Need, and a Macmillan Coffee Morning. For the coffee morning they organised equipment, advertised the event and developed their skills of working with money and customer service.
Kevin Biggs (Senior Teacher)“Everybody took part and we sold lots of tickets. We made nearly £100. When the teachers got gunged it was funny. We had 10 teachers offer to be gunged”.
Jawed Saeed (year 10)
“We sold raffle tickets for Children in Need. £1 would get 5 tickets and 20p for one ticket. We raised money for charity. I enjoyed giving out the prizes. It was good to see the teachers getting gunged, especially Mr Fraser.”
Hajra Bahamari (year 10)
OnThursday 25th October
2012, I and my group raised over £100 for Great Ormand Street Hospital. I chose this charity because it is unique and helps many children who are sick. As a child who was treated in Great Ormond Street and seeing the condition of the vulnerable children there made me think really hard. There were different children around my age who wanted to carry on learning; some wanted to become pilots, teachers and nurses. When I came out of the hospital that week it made me want to change the lives of young children who are positive about life and want to succeed. The cake sale day was about determination, maturity and respect. Being able to remember those children in the hospital and being able to support the children on this day was incredible. This event will be something to remember as it made me value my education even more and made me set higher aims and objectives. We all enjoyed ourselves and we could feel everyone else in the school was keen to donate money to this charity
Khadija Ahmed (year 11)
Dear Friends, Thank you so much for fundraising for us and for your generous donation of £303.34.
Great Ormond Street Hospital treats hundreds of children every day and donations like yours allow us to provide them with world class medical care.
As you know, amazing things happen at Great Ormond Street
diagnosis for young people, children and babies.
our supporters. Donations like yours allow us to:
• Buy specialist equipment which improves treatments and
Hospital and this is only possible thanks to the generosity of
stay with their children.
patients than everbefore.
• Provide accommodation at our patient hotel for parents to
• Rebuild and refurbish the hospital so that we can treat more
• Continue our pioneering research to find cures and treatments
for childhood diseases, giving children all over the world a
brighter future.Thank you once again on behalf of the staff, parents and all the
children at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Karen
CommunityO’KeeffeFundraising
Team
The Young Heroes Project has been a fantastic opportunity for students to receive training by enthusiastic members of ‘City Year’, a leading youth and education charity in London to become a ‘Young Hero’. Students participating in the programme gain skills in leadership, public speaking, networking, project planning, organisation, time management and teamwork which will result in enhanced job prospects, experience and knowledge, ultimately engaging and improving their local communities. Students develop experience working with other people from different backgrounds and areas, in a City Year environment of understanding and tolerance, ultimately supporting them to become active citizens.
My Young Heroes experience
When I first started this programme I had no idea what it was about, what I had to do or the activities I would be faced with. However when I met the workers they were extremely enthusiastic and I warmed to them very quickly as they made me feel welcome and happy at all times. I had a few other difficulties, one being the oldest in the group and at first I didn’t really talk to anyone, as I thought I wouldn’t have much in common with them because of their age. However because we had to work in groups for some of our challenges and activities I realised we had many similarities. I can say I made new friends which I would not have made if I hadn’t started Young Heroes.
Young Heroes has given me many skills such as public speaking, I’ve learnt all the techniques and skills I would need to be a good public speaker and I feel this puts me at an advantage because it can help me with various things in the future such as job interviews. Young Heroes has also raised my self-esteem immensely enabling me to be more confident when talking to people I don’t know and has also given me confidence within myself. Finally it has helped me learn more about my community which has encouraged me to help out making a small difference to the community which I feel is important and makes me feel quite proud of myself.
Overall Young Heroes has helped me a great deal and was truly an amazing experience. It has inspired me to work voluntarily in a youth centre for 2 hours a week as a peer mentor and during Young Heroes they taught me that work experience was essential to get a job and important for me as it gives me a chance to see what work life is like. Young Heroes has helped many children (including myself) and hopefully will help many more in the future.
Sara Hoxha (year 11)
Young Heroes Project
A Captured Moment in Time
On
Wednesday afternoons the young camera enthusiasts of Cranford take up various positions around the site to capture a moment in time and be the one to get the best photo of the day. Here are just a few examples of their work. They certainly are learning the skills and techniques to become the next David Bailey.
“I enjoy W Factor photography lessons. I like it a lot because the teacher actually teaches the students how to take a picture from a professional angle, how to use focus, how to make changes to the picture by using the mode dial and I even learned how to open the battery slot which I used to find tricky”.
Parnoush Islamzadeh (year 9)
Project at Cranford
“A great end to a successful Young Heroes Programme last term, as it was full of enthusiastic students who had completed all the tasks with immense effort and teamwork. During the many topics that were covered in The Young Heroes Programme, the students showed that they were becoming young adults. The students deserve great praise for being able to take part in the improvement of their community and being young rôle models to others around them”.
Volunteering
“Volunteering in the Community gives Cranford Community College students the opportunity to work with the community and the school took on a spirit of compassion, comradeship and confidence. Being able to engage with things we were highly passionate about, to connect with our neighbourhood and make it a better place, has undoubtedly been the most gratifying and valuable W factor Cranford offers. Only through the eyes of others do you see yourself... ...only through the work of your own do you find the difference in others”.
Zara Hassan (year 13)
The things I liked the most was going outside and taking loads of pictures”.
Ruqayah Abdur-Rahman (year 7)
“I have enjoyed photography very much. I think it offers students a lot and you gain valuable basic IT skills such as using Photoshop. I wasn’t able to use a Canon camera before but after 1 or 2 sessions I was able to use many functions on the camera. I like how we get pictures and edit them in the lesson but at the same time learn the theory behind different lighting and special effects on Photoshop. Overall it’s great fun, interesting and very useful all-round”.
Sajan Rajpoot (year 13)
“I have enjoyed photography this term as I have learnt many skills by using these cameras. I find the Photoshop a bit difficult using the tools but apart from that it was a really enjoyable w factor and maybe I could be taking photos of celebrities in about 12 years’ time”.
Jaya Saini (year 7)
Benazir Amein (Group Facilitator for the Young Heroes Project)
“What I like about photography is that we get to take pictures and we get to have fun with the pictures and I got to learn about a camera and how to use
Know Your City
“Know Your City” has been a great choice because it is good to know where people come from and why. My favourite place that we all went to the National Grid because I learnt a lot of things like how they think of how much power we use and how they think about the future but what I really understood is how we waste energy. If we all do one thing like watch TV together we will be saving a lot of energy. On the last day of that W factor you can choose where you want to go and we went ice skating ‘that was fun but hard. My friend Amit only did one or two laps which was not much fun so I thought that he did not like it but he still tried his very best like he always does so our teacher was very proud. This was a fun W factor.
Yuvraj Sigh (year 7)
“Know Your City” was fun and I enjoyed it. We went to different places like Windsor Castle. The last place we went to was ice skating and that was near Hampton Court. That was the best place we went. When we went to the World War 1 and 2 shelters I learned a lot”.
Cranford Gets Platinum London Award and Beacon Award for Cycling
On Thursday 8th November 2012, I was invited to County Hall in central London to attend the TfL STAR Accreditation Platinum Schools Awards Event. This is an event that celebrates the schools in the whole of London that have the best sustainable Travel Plans.
The event was held on the top floor of County Hall overlooking Tower Bridge and an amazing view of London. The event allowed the best schools in London to share good practice and celebrate what they have achieved during the past 12 months with their travel plans, cycling and walking initiatives and any other travel related issues.
Cranford Community College had already been awarded the Gold Award at the Borough presentation earlier in the year for their travel plan and had subsequently been nominated as one of 4 schools for the top prize, the Platinum Award. The event started with some excellent presentations from a variety of schools similar to the one that we gave at the Borough Presentation. It then moved onto the awards part of the day and things started off extremely well with Cranford being awarded ‘Beacon
School’ status for our cycling initiatives. This was to recognise all the hard work that the school has done to encourage cycling for students and staff. We have purchased a number of bikes that we use in our W Factor cycling activities as well as lending bikes out to staff to use to get to and from work. We also offer a free breakfast every day to anyone who cycles to school.
Eventually we moved onto the main awards of the day and the eagerly awaited Platinum Award to the best school in London. When they started reading out what the winning school had achieved, it slowly became clear that Cranford Community College had been voted the winners and it was with great pleasure and pride that I was able to accept this prestigious award on behalf of the school.
This has concluded a very successful few years of Travel Planning and cycling within the school. We hope to continue all the good work and get more students involved in developing the travel plan further. One of the next steps is to encourage more car-sharing, more cycling to school and more walking to school by all.
Simon Dean (Assistant Headteacher)
Mathushan Santhakumar and Yuvraj Singh (year 7)
Year 9 and 11 Careers Days Autumn 2012
Towards the end of the autumn term 2012 we held two careers days for year 9 and 11 students. At the end of November 2012 year 11 students took part in workshops and taster sessions run by a mixture of major international companies, the police, local training providers and universities to learn about the world of work and higher education and to help them with decisions about post 16 options. Students were able to find out about apprenticeships in a range of areas including motor mechanics, child care, horticulture and opportunities at Heathrow, as well as quizzing a top executive from Price Waterhouse Cooper, representatives from BSkyB, KPMG, OgilvyOne and the National Grid. In addition some students took part in employability and interview skills training and those with the police investigated a crime scene.
“It was a great day and it increased my knowledge” said Susan Ghowsi. Navkiran Sonik agreed “It has given me an idea of what I want to study at university” she said. “We should have these days more often” said Ajmeer Monir.
A week later it was the turn of year 9 students. This event was managed by Spark – the Hounslow Education Business Partnership. Again students chose
from a range of options including Orange Tree Theatre, Thames Water and BAM Construction. A big hit was the “Speed Networking” event where students spent a few minutes with a variety of employers in a question and answer session. In just an hour students learned about photography, running a charity, working for the local council and being a university student. It was a really good event and useful for students when considering GCSE options and understanding what qualifications are needed for different careers.
Rimsha Amjad said “it was very good, it gave me a good insight into jobs” and Zara Choudhry added “it was very fun and enjoyable and it helped me think about what career I could do in a hospital.”
Cath Goold
Back by popular demand and after much arm twisting, the Cranford staff thespians took to the stage with their version of “Robin Hood”.
On Friday 20th December 2012 staff and students were entertained by a montage of fairy tale characters, drawn into the traditional storyline and the love triangle between Robin, Maid Marion and the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham.
Robin Hood, played by geography teacher Matt Southern-Myers, captured audience hearts with his heroic deeds and superman stunts to save the lovely Miss Marion played by languages teacher Ruth Painting. English teacher Aaron Sohi played the wicked Sheriff of
Nottingham with great verve shouting “Who’s bad?” at the audience after his remarkable rendition of “Bad” by Michael Jackson. The “boo’s” rang loud and clear from those who dared to doubt him.
Kevin Prunty, Headteacher saved the day as King Richard returning just in time to stop Prince John, played by John Collins (science) and Guy of Gisborne, Michelle Cousins (Head of Humanities) fulfil their evil plan and Roger Owen, Chair of the Academy Trust Board made a guest appearance as the priest.
The ensemble cast of merry wo-men led by Little John, Friar Tuck and Will Scarlett, (Kevin Biggs (IT / Senior teacher), Simon Dean (Assistant Headteacher) and Emma O’Grady (Head of Year 11), helped to add lively humour through witty one liners and routines as they professed their loyalty to their leader “Rockin’ Robin”
As with all good pantomimes various characters popped up to join the fun; The three bears played by Fran Green (English) and Rob Ind (Senior Teacher) with Amrat Atwal (science) who played their stroppy teenager son Ted. Hansel and Gretel played by Fran Gibney (English) and Catherine Goodwill (Head of Year 9), lost in the woods. The SEN department dancing and playing as bears at the Teddy Bears picnic and Goldilocks, played by RE teacher Katie Hibbins who certainly took a shine to Robin Hood resulting in a dance off between herself and Maid Marion Gangnam style.
Dobby, played by Philip Dobison (Assistant Headteacher) made an appearance again much to the delight of the audience especially when he and Nigella the cook played by Maria Bramhall (Senior Teacher) recreated the Morecombe and Wise breakfast scene to “The Stripper” whilst making the wedding cake.
And of course there was the happy ending with love conquering all, good beating evil, the standard pie in the face for the wicked Sheriff and the company number of ”I’m A Believer” to bring the panto to a close. A great way to end the term and a festive time was had by all.
Jessica Joyce (Director)
uesday 27th November 2012 was a double celebration for Cranford Community College; not only did we recognise the achievements of individual students we were also able to applaud the work of the whole school in celebrating Ofsted’s recognition of OUTSTANDING at our annual Presentation of Awards Evening aptly entitled, “Going for Gold”.
Students, staff, parents and guests from across education and the Borough, joined us on this special evening to listen to inspiring nomination speeches and to share in all the amazing achievements of our students, many of whom had achieved over and above expectation.
A special Rod Lewis Award, created in memory of Rod, a long standing and highly respected member of the Governing Body by his wife Jenny and his daughter Nicole, was presented to the Senior Leadership Team in recognition for their collective work as the
A variety of performances helped make the event very special including two songs by the WFactor singing group; The Scripts “Living In The Hall Of Fame” and Emile Sande “Read All About It” led by Ms Green and Ms Hibbins were ideal song choices to reflect the theme. Alice Kerr gave a beautiful rendition of the Kings of Leon song, “Use Somebody”.
Our guest speaker for the evening was the Director of the Dhol Foundation, Johnny Kalsi a popular and well known figure in the community who gave a lively speech about his career, passion for music and why he set up the foundation. He engaged the audience with his humorous stories and got them to join in with a clapping and rhythm exercise to show the importance of working together.
The final performance of the evening really got everyone on their feet dancing and clapping to the rhythms as members from the Dhol foundation gave two high energy performances concluding a wonderful evening of celebration.
