CR March 2017

Cranford Community College is pleased to receive The Prince’s Teaching Institute Mark for Maths 2016

The Prince’s Teaching Institute (PTI) launched the Schools Programme in 2007 to recognise and reward school departments that develop inspirational ideas and activities which enhance the teaching of art, english, geography, history, latin, mathematics, modern foreign languages, music and science, regardless of their pupils’ backgrounds or abilities. It is run as a membership group for school departments that choose to commit to increasing the challenge of their subject provision.

Our Maths Department received the Mark in recognition of its commitment to fostering a love for the subject among the students through exciting teaching and innovative events including puzzle days and competitions such as team maths challenges and Rock star Times tables.

The PTI’s Schools Programme is open to all state secondary schools in England. To become members, school departments must demonstrate their commitment to increasing teachers’ subject knowledge, and to furthering their students’ understanding of and enthusiasm for the subject, regardless of their background or ability. To achieve the PTI Mark, departments then have to demonstrate that they have increased the challenge within their subject curriculum, developed their staff’s own specialist subject knowledge, developed subjectbased links outside school, and enthused their pupils through subject-based activities beyond

the curriculum. After three years of Schools Programme membership, departments may choose to become Associate Departments by devising an advanced multi-year programme in one of these areas. As Associate Departments they will share their growing expertise with others in the Schools Programme to the benefit of all.

In order to become members of the Schools Programme, schools must consider particular criteria for excellence within subject specialist provision:

• Clear commitment to the subject specialism

• Evidence of a high level of pupil engagement and attainment in the subject

• Pupils’ access to a range of extra-curricular activities related to the subject, both within school and off-site

•

Subject-based links and partnerships with other schools and areas of the community

• Breadth and depth of study, ensured through coherent planning and monitoring

• Coherence and challenge, identified and developed in curriculum planning and delivery

• Departmental commitment to subject-based Continuing Professional Development

• Effective and inspiring teaching

Mr Kevin Prunty Executive Headteacher, National Leader of Education said, “We are delighted to have been awarded the PTI Mark for our Maths Department’s innovative work, and will be proud to carry the Mark on our stationery and website as evidence of our commitment to inspirational teaching”.

Veronique Gerber (Head of School)

As part of the fantastic Shakespeare in Schools Festival which takes place every year across the country with 1 million young people taking part in performances in professional venues during the months of October and November, the students of Cranford performed two adaptations on Friday 18th November 2016 to a keen audience of parents, students, teachers and our local MP, Seema Malhotra.

Our key stage 3 students performed a modern version set on the Redwood Estate of Othello, where Othello has to try and impress Desdemona’s brother who is a leader of a gang, in order to marry his sister. Of course as in the original version the evil character of Iago manipulates the situation and poisons Othello’s mind with lies, which in turn leads to Othello losing his mind and mistrusting Desdemona and finally killing her, despite her innocence.

Our version was entirely led by the students in terms of improvising scenes and writing the script, with two very talented year 12 students, Jessica Atouguia and Lucy Tirahan at the helm, directing. They used physical, abstract and naturalistic theatre to convey the story in a simple, yet powerful way.

Our key stage 4 version was set in a modern business environment, but using Shakespeare’s original language. In this version we played with the idea of how much the twists and turns in Othello’s life have an impact on his mind and this was depicted through movement and sound.

Our audience thoroughly enjoyed it and Seema Malhotra commented on how projects like this are essential in building confidence and showcasing talent.

This has been a fabulous project to work on with the students, seeing each one of them grow in their confidence, in their skills base, in their creativity and their ability to work together and most of all they have once again become a family. What also comes out of projects like this is that it has a direct impact on what happens in the classroom, students will often partake more in discussions, will volunteer themselves for activities around the school and improves attainment.

This is the third time we have participated in the Shakespeare in Schools Festival, with “Richard III” (2014) and “Macbeth” (2015) and we hope that over the years we will cover all of Shakespeare’s plays.

Seema Sethi (Head of Drama, School and Community Arts Development)

Othello Produced and Performed by Cranford Community College Beck Theatre 7 November 2016 Appraised by Melanie Grossenbacher

Many congratulations to the cast and crew of Cranford Community College on their fantastic production! I’d like to highlight a few things from this group that stood out, wowed the audience and made this Shakespeare Schools Festival night an evening to remember

This was a slick and inventive production with exemplary ensemble work

I loved how you foreshadowed the story for us, ensuring we understood where the tragic tale was heading and making us desperately want to see it play out differently! This was a clever and engaging choice

The way you used freeze frames and stillness was really effective, creating tension and drama while also supporting the storytelling.

The humming was haunting and powerful, it stuck in my mind for the rest of the week!

You made the story your own and worked together as a tight team to form powerful stage pictures which created a rich and exciting show. It was clear that you were disciplined and committed to your characters and you pulled off Mrs Sethi's detailed direction with style

Congratulations for this dark and dramatic Othello!

It's a significant achievement to do something as difficult and aspirational as perform one of Shakespeare's plays on a professional stage. Everyone who's taken part should be so proud of themselves.”

Ruth Brock, SSF Chief Executive

I would like to congratulate everyone involved in this superb production. I hope to see your school in the Festival again next year.

Melanie Grossenbacher SSF Stage Director

“I think this tale would win my daughter too.”

Battle Of Ideas Conference 2016

OnSunday 23rd October 2016, I attended the Barbican “Battle of Ideas” conference where I took part in scientific, academic and cultural discussions. My first talk was based upon “Religious Education in a secular age”. We argued over the view of taking the subject out of the curriculum as schools are currently in a society where many people no longer believe in God. At midday, I attended a contemporary controversy session called “Post-Socratic dialogue on love” where I began to understand the paradoxes of love and how we, as people, make assumptions that love is always an unconditional acceptance, which is both honest and altruistic, whereas in reality, it is a much broader topic to analyse. Finally, my last talk was entitled “What’s God got to do with it?” in which I learnt about how we view God in society and whether the idea of growing secularisation and decline in religious faith were due to the loss of parental authority. Overall, the experience was rather intriguing as I was given the opportunity to explore a range of topical issues in a wider political and historical context.

Hapsa Khalid (year 13)

“Regardless of Britain’s relationship with the EU, the need for a European-wide public conversation has never been more urgent. While based in London, the Battle of Ideas is unapologetically international, with satellite debates throughout Europe. Our 400-plus speakers are from across the world, across the political spectrum and across disciplines, from the humanities to engineering.

The Battle of Ideas encourages an audience of freethinkers; inquisitive and opinionated attendees prepared to listen to opinions they have never heard before, to argue back with those they disagree with, and try on new hats, however uncomfortable”.

Claire Fox (Director, Institute of Ideas)

YouthCAN

OnThursday 6th and Friday 7th October 2016 I attended a conference called YouthCAN which was an immensely beneficial experience and one I will not forget.

The Youth Civil Activism Network (YouthCAN) is designed to upscale and optimise grassroots efforts to combat violent extremism of all forms.

The event took place in the Wesley Euston Hotel in London where we were assigned groups to work in for the two days. This was quite enjoyable as I got to meet new people and have intriguing conversations with many passionate activists and those wanting to become activists. The people who ran the event were very welcoming and made the experience of creating counter-narrative campaigns one that was thoroughly amazing and worth attending.

Youth Civil Activism Network is a global network where young adults are invited to attend activistled events that allow them to be creative, learn and use tools and resources provided by the network to generate a campaign to counter violent extremism and hate speech. Their goal is to encourage young people to challenge extremism and hate speech by creating successful content with the aid of the activists at YouthCAN.

On the first day, I learnt something new in each of the sessions, for example, how we can effectively use social media to our advantage to advance our own campaigns that we created within our groups. Many representatives of different social media, such as YouTube, gave us lectures on how to use them and how they can help our campaigns become widespread and reach a variety of audiences to pass on our message. The lectures were very informative and taught us how amazing these platforms are if they are used in the right way. We were also given lectures and stories from a victim of extremism and a former extremist who spoke about their experiences dealing with it; this gave us an insight on how much of an impact this had on their lives, especially the victim who was involved in the 7/7 bombings, and how we must act in order to stop these horrific events happening even more rapidly around the world. I learnt that young people have a valuable voice which we must use against extremism.

The second day of the event was more interactive as we worked in our groups to develop the message we wanted to spread into a campaign; it was a great experience as I got to hear many different ideas put forward by the activists within the group and how we could act on them in the future. We focused our campaign on multiculturalism and why it is necessary within the UK despite the amount of hate speech revolving around the topic. This event allowed me to experience what it is like creating a campaign and how we can begin our own ones outside of the network, using the skills taught to us through the interesting lectures given to us by the speakers. They also taught us the importance of staying safe during our efforts to advance with our campaigns which is an important factor to consider when running a campaign.

Overall, this was one incredible and valuable experience that I encourage everyone to attend as it taught me just how much we as young people need to get involved in this cause to counter hate speech and extremism. It was an event that held my attention throughout the two days and was one that allowed me to obtain skills that I can apply later in life. This is one event that I highly recommend you become involved in as you will not regret it.

Carmen Gaur (year

“When I was selected for the trip, I felt that I had a once in a lifetime opportunity and I could not deny myself this experience. We travelled to London on the bus and the underground. When we arrived, we took a group photograph outside the Albert Hall before going into the educational workshop where we learned about the science of sound and music and a bit about the concert hall. We experienced viewing from the grand boxes (the most expensive seating in the hall) which was my favourite part. Overall I think it was a great experience and I would like to attend more trips”.

Haroon Lukka (year 8)

TheMusic and Science Departments worked on a joint project and took 30 students from key stage 3 to take part in the Discover Science and Music workshop at the Royal Albert Hall.

Students were given a tour, learnt about the history of the Albert Hall and got to see world class musicians rehearse in what is no doubt an amazing venue.

As part of the workshop, students were introduced to the concept of what sound is and how it is used in our everyday lives. One of the activities was based on measuring the acoustics of the Royal Albert Hall using state of the art equipment. Students measured the space, then took their findings back to the lab to work out how far sound travels and how long it would take.

Another of the activities included analysing frequencies, where students were able to adjust sine waves until it was inaudible; this gave students an insight into how significant sound is not just within technology but in our everyday lives.

Tanvir Bhullar (year 9) commented: “I really enjoyed this workshop. I never knew how important sound

was. Even noise is so important, it can be used for so many things”.

Mr Callendar (Physics Teacher) said: “It was really pleasing to have come to this workshop. Music and science are so closely related and it doesn’t matter if you’re good at one or the other, you’ll enjoy this workshop because you’ll just “get it”.

Mr Paoli (Music Teacher) said: “The look on the students’ faces when they saw the musicians performing in such an amazing space was so inspirational. I want our students to be performing there”.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved for helping to organise this wonderful and successful trip.

Mo Wasiq (Head of Music)

Seen and Not Heard project with Theatre Complicité

This summer, I spent a week with the internationally renowned theatre company Complicité helping to create a new show, trying to relay what the Internet is like and what pressures it puts on teenagers.

At the beginning, I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but the end product was quite interesting. It was a Promenade show, where we had three sections to represent what being on social media was like: Room 1 was the ‘Internet Room’ where there was tons of chaos to overload the senses of the audience members to show them how upsetting it can be to be on social media, Room 2 was the ‘Photoshoot Room’ where photos were taken of the audience members professionally and then printed onto a negative so that we could print it out and develop them in the ‘Dark Room’. This second room represented how we feel about ourselves whenever we take a picture of ourselves and post it on social media and was also used to show audience members how important the taking of a ‘selfie’ is to teenagers right now. Room 3 (The final room) was the ‘Dark Room’, which was the one I was in. In this room, we developed the photo they had just taken while telling stories of how life would be without social media or the Internet and what we might or might not do without it.

I think this opportunity took me out of my comfort zone, as I had no one I knew, had to travel around 2 hours there and back each day for the week by myself, and also had to deal with not really having anyone know entirely what the end was going to look like until the very end of the week as they were letting us run it and give ideas pretty much the whole week. But I think I need to be pushed out of my comfort zone sometimes, and that this experience was very helpful in giving me tools on how to deal with it.

I have been continuing to work with the company every Saturday, where we have been learning how to take professional looking photos for the next stage in this performance. We will be performing this to another test audience, and then hopefully traveling with it once we’ve worked out the kinks in the performance as a whole.

Aria Cundall (year 11)

Picasso Centre Sensory Garden and Horticultural Project

Centre staff and students were totally delighted when Mary Harpley – Chief Executive Officer of Hounslow Borough Council – granted their wish to have funding for a sensory garden. In March 2016 students and staff began planting seeds and watching them germinate and grow. A temporary greenhouse was placed in the garden prior to the real greenhouse arriving and as the temperatures inched upwards so too did the plants that the students and staff were growing.

Billy (year 9) said that the best moment was when we started emptying the bags of compost into the first raised bed: “I had to run my hands through the compost to break up the lumps and it felt so nice. I had no idea that it would be so enjoyable. I felt really relaxed.” As well as this, Billy helped Ms Basu to plant out the entire herb and salad bed which is now one of the loveliest features in the garden. Destiny (year 8) turned out to have the greenest fingers of all. Later in the summer term he grew a giant radish – which was thirteen centimetres in circumference. Ms Freeman had a beautiful award trophy made for Destiny which he proudly shows to all the visitors to the centre.

People with autism very often find that their dietary needs are constrained by their desire for bland predictable foodstuffs. One of the things that Eesa (year 8) loved was the fact that trying different types of vegetable and salad crop expanded his palate and he is now always to be

found picking at the rocket and munching away happily. Indeed all of the years students tasted the herbs and rated them on flavour, thinking then about what dishes they could add them to. Their particular favourite dish was a spicy salsa made by Ms Freeman which everyone delighted in trying in our first term back this year.

When the shed arrived Bilal (year 8) really enjoyed organising it and making sure the tools we would all use in the garden were stored safely and in an orderly fashion. We even got to go and buy the tools ourselves and were given lessons on how to use and carry each one safely. Joe (year 9) used these safety rules when digging the huge hole for our pumpkin plant, which we then spent eight months watering. When we finally got to pick the pumpkin in November Eesa and Destiny carved it to make their first ever jack-olantern. This was a wonderful moment because de-gunking the pumpkin was really slimy so it was the ultimate sensory challenge.

The students and staff are all really looking forward to the up-coming growing season as they learned so much from last year. They have even carouselled their learning on to the new year 7 students and to the boys who came to attend the Horticulture Society for WFactor. The garden is still a work in progress but the students are all really looking forward to apples growing on the two apple trees in years to come.

Lesley Freeman (Picasso Centre teacher)

World Class Again at Cranford Community College

Following on from the successful achievement of the World Class School Quality Mark by Cranford Community College in November 2015, two of Cranford’s students

Jessica Atouguia and Mustafa Ahmed along with their teacher Philip Dobison, attended this year’s assessment day at the Wren Academy in October 2016. The two students were shadowing the assessment process and both successfully achieved Qualified Student Assessor status. During the assessment day, the two students had 3 students each that they had to assess carefully to ensure that those students met the standards required to achieve the World Class School Quality Mark. The Cranford students were also being assessed on their judgements and successfully completed their own assessment stage with flying colours.

Jessica Atouguia said: “Taking part in the WCSQM as an assessor was extremely exciting. I didn’t know that so many schools could work together to achieve World Class School status; it was a great sight to see. When we first arrived at Wren Academy I was nervous, because I had never taken part in something this big. I felt like there would be a lot of pressure on me. We all got along so well and it was great to see the teamwork between the schools being assessed and the schools doing the assessing. I was truly honoured to be able to witness the creativity, hard work and effort that the schools put in to each of their projects. In the end it all paid off, because we were awarded the WCSQM Assessor Award. I can’t wait to be a part of WCSQM next year – it’s such an amazing experience.”

The other qualified student assessor Mustafa Ahmed said of the day: “Honestly I was surprised by the rigorous amount of preparation, expertise and skill needed to even qualify to take part in the World Class Assessment let alone gaining the world class status. The students I was assessing all truly displayed amazing skills and have each truly represented their respected schools”.

Philip Dobison (Assistant Head of School, International Relations)

“During our time in Tianjin, one of China’s major port cities, we visited the local markets; unlike anything we’ve witnessed, it buzzed with crowds either bargaining for a traditional Chinese fan, or eating the classic fried squid.

We also got a feel for the variation of education in China, when we visited a sister school to Tianjin College of Commerce. The atmosphere was certainly different, displaying different attitudes to discipline; during our tour of the dorms, we witnessed the strict regulations a military school has. The most satisfying experience of the trip was being able to walk the Great Wall of China. Despite it being a tough climb, the end point was exhilarating. We were entranced by the wonderful viewpoints and statues which surrounded it, and were very happy that we were able to achieve this one in a lifetime opportunity”.

Raul Plahe & Shivam Vegad (year 12)

Aspart of the exchange and partnership programme that Cranford Community College holds with Tianjin College of Commerce (TCC) in China, on 21st October 2016, a delegation composed of 17 students and 5 staff got on board for a fantastic journey to China. An experience that we could certainly call “a once in a lifetime” kind.

We all met up early morning at Heathrow airport, and after a long flight, we finally arrived at Beijing International Airport. That night, we were offered a wonderful welcome dinner and, for some of us, this event became our first experience with real Chinese food. It was a lovely dinner in which frequent toasts were proposed in the name of this exciting multicultural meeting and experience. This was just the opening event of eight days of activities and visits that showed us the greatness of a unique country that is certainly becoming a real superpower.

The next days covered a very busy and hectic agenda starting early morning every day. We were given a campus tour to see the facilities and the modern infrastructure of TCC (Tianjin College of Commerce), and we even had the chance to share with students and teachers.

When visiting the centre of Tianjin, we had the chance to visit a big clothing factory that is currently providing the majority of the ZARA clothes that are sold all around the world. We understood how Chinese manufacturing companies are determined to achieve high levels of quality for in the fashion market.

Another great event was the day they took us to visit the amazing “Great Wall”; being able to walk along those ancient stones was an indescribable experience. This visit to one of the seven wonders of the world did not stop us from enjoying another exciting part of history, when they took us back to Beijing in order to spend a whole day visiting the magnificent buildings of the “Forbidden City”. The fantastic decoration of ancient art and the magnificent

“I initially approached this trip with a degree of trepidation: a 10 day period leading a school trip half way around the world, in a country where I did not speak the language with a group of students I did not really know was a daunting way to spend a half term. In the end this was a wonderful experience with a phenomenal group of young adults. Every single member of the group - staff and students - threw themselves into every activity (including, but not limited to, climbing walls, making beds, shopping and posing for photos) with enthusiasm, respect and discipline; the respect and maturity shown by the students was second to none and enabled the staff, and our Chinese hosts, to develop an excellent rapport with them. They are a credit to their school, their parents and themselves and if I was ever asked to take a school trip again with those students, I would jump at the chance. A genuine pleasure from start to finish. Hai”!

Aaron Singh (Head of year 9)

“Knowing that this trip was going to be between my A-levels, the first question I asked myself was; “shouldn’t I spend my half-term revising and is this trip going to help me with my education?” and now, after coming back I can say that being in the last year of studying at Cranford, this trip has been an absolutely astounding and unforgettable experience of my life – Beijing 2016. I feel that I have been very lucky to be a part of this trip and had the chance to cherish such a wonderful opportunity. I want to thank Cranford and the three amazing teachers: Mr Singh, Ms Kaher, and Mr Lee. An unforgettable experience with a group of crazy individuals”.

Jaslin Aurora (year 13)

something out of this world.

On Friday we visited the amazingly huge and modern Cultural Centre of Tianjin and visited the Museum of History where we appreciated some astonishing displays of the history of the city and how it became one of the most important ports and cities in the whole country. On the final day, the students had the chance to share time with some of the students’ families by visiting their home and experiencing home life first hand. On this, our last night in China, they offered us a farewell dinner in a nice modern restaurant in Tianjin.

The next morning while still dark and cold, we had to say goodbye to our fantastic hosts. It is difficult to express the feelings when having to leave a place where we have been treated with the most genuine acts of respect and affection. This is a place and a culture with no equals in hospitality. We have to say that the Chinese people have the most impressive attitude of openness and integration toward other cultures. Having to say goodbye to our friends was

not an easy task but we did it knowing that someday they would come back to visit us and we would be able to return, somehow, the warm welcome they offered us.

Special mention is deserved for the presence of Mr Joe Briscoe, a Mandarin-Chinese teacher, who came all the way from our partner school in the Isle of Wight (Carisbroke College) to join us in this fascinating adventure. His friendly and supportive attitude was a key to encourage our students to learn Chinese as an added value for their curriculum and future career.

For all of us, it is now time to celebrate this fabulous partnership between Tianjin College of Commerce and Cranford Community College, and let’s toast as well to keep enhancing this exchange of culture, experiences and emotions.

Enzo Gianvittorio (Web Admin & Graphic Designer for Cranford Community College)

Mousetrap is an organisation that increases opportunities for young people to access high quality professional arts in London. They offer projects and performances to schools and young people at discounted prices which means that even disadvantaged low income communities can have access.

I heard about Play the Critic during the summer holidays and was determined to get the students at Cranford onto the project. We had to apply and as we were successful the project co-ordinator contacted us to ensure that we could commit. And he did and we could.

The project was split into 3 phases.

Phase 1 - Part A. Students attend a performance of King Lear, write a 500 word theatre review. 20 Cranford students attended the performance of King Lear with Glenda Jackson as Lear at the Wyndhams Theatre in November. It was a three hour long play. Painstaking for some and exhilarating for others. Our students, although tired, had lots to say about the play, negative mainly: about how long it was, about how there was no set, were they still rehearsing, no wonder we got cheap tickets, Glenda Jackson should have stayed in politics. These were the beginnings of their reviewws, formulated on the tube home, which is how and when most theatre critics write their best stuff because it is fresh and raw. Some felt sympathy for Glenda saying that she was so old and that she had done a stunning job showing the vulnerability of Lear even more. The fact that a woman played Lear was a huge point of contention with the students.

Phase 1 - Part B. All the students then attended a masterclass with theatre journalist John Nathan. Although this project was aimed at A level Theatre Studies students, our GCSE group was successful in securing a place at the masterclass. The day was excellent. Students engaged in a practical workshop where they explored King Lear as a play and then wrote their responses using sharp, edgy language that would eventually

Play The Critic

turn into a review of 500 words. It was fabulous to watch as students who felt they had little to say said so much after the workshop.

Phase 2 - The students were given a choice of 4 plays to watch independently and then write their own review bringing in devices that they had learnt during the workshop. These plays were not easy plays, they were all new writing and challenging. The four plays were:

• REMOVAL MEN by M. J. Harding, with Jay Miller at The Yard.

• CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME adapted by Simon Stephens at the Gielgud Theatre.

• NO MAN’S LAND by Harold Pinter at the Wyndhams Theatre.

• THE NEST by Franz Xaver Kroetz, in a new translation by Conor McPherson at The Young Vic.

I took a small group to The Yard in Hackney Wick. It was a long almost 2 hour journey but it was worth it. When we got off the train the reaction of the students made me realise that it wasn’t just the experience of theatre that they were getting but the experience of the journey to a different part of London they had not seen before. Once we entered the ‘theatre space’ which was in a car park, the student’s got a little worried about where I had brought them. Entering the venue was great; ‘Miss, do they do theatre in places like this?’. But they liked the venue and the feel of the place.

Phase 3 - The students all wrote a review based on their plays and these were submitted to John Nathan who then came in on Monday 19th December 2016 (during the school holidays) to give them a one-to-one mentoring session on their review and what to do to improve. They found this really useful as it meant that they could speak with a professional theatre critic about their work. Here are extracts from some of their reviews.

Seema Sethi (Head of Drama, School and Community Arts Development)

Removal Men

The Yard

“Can a love story exist in an immigration migration centre? Mo’s in a dilemma, he’s in love, but she’s in an immigration migration office whilst he’s the guy who works there. Beatrice and George try to help their fellow workmate out whilst Mo’s worrying about his pregnant lover. M.J. Harding shows us the possibilities in his new production, Removal Men. New script, 3 actors and weird dialogues – all key ingredients to this play”.

Ayushi Bimali (year 11)

No Man’s Land

The Wyndhams Theatre

“The title alone ‘No Man’s Land’ is enough to give you chills but then realising Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart are playing the role of Spooner and Hirst named after cricketers, the writer Harold Pinter has found a real connection to match his passion and play into one.

In this production, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart play the roles luminously. Patrick uses his noble profile voice and Ian leads off with his stories rambling on about wild youth they supposedly once shared.

I think behind the play there is a lot of constant tension between life and death. The design and set of Hirst’s Hampstead home is seen in the context of swaying trees which gradually become icy as the play progresses”.

Harjot Brar (year 11)

The Nest Young Vic

“The subtle realistic lighting had the audience feeling like omnipotent viewers, looking into someone’s household and the unflinching play had us hooked throughout. The way in which the long process of time had been condensed and presented through the use of calming yet almost hypnotic music was gripping”.

Juhi Kumra (year 11)

King Lear

Old Vic Theatre

“Glenda Jackson has done it again! She has managed to dominate a space yet again, but whether or not she has performed as well as she has in the house of Parliament is a completely a different question. Glenda Jackson plays King Lear in Shakespeare’s play directed by Deborah Warner. The bare set is said to represent the nihility and bareness of the characters especially during Edmund’s monologue where we are exposed to some nudity. After speaking to the assistant director we were told that the actors were in their own clothes in order to give it a rehearsal type feel but perhaps it went too far when the actors kept slipping King Lear or should I say Glenda Jackson some water throughout the play, were they giving their King water or the frail and vulnerable Glenda? There are bursts of excellence like the storm scenes in Act three which I must say were executed extremely well. Warner’s gender blind casting was a bold move-although Glenda is androgynous her presence simply doesn’t demand the right kind of puissance and power that a King should have”.

Huzayma Khamis (year 11)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night Time Gielgud Theatre

“Can words describe the amazing West End classic adapted by Simon Stephens? I’d say no, but loveable character Christopher would argue by definition they could. But is it worth the pricey ticket?

Well whether it’s the exciting visuals or the powerful stage presence, curious incident attempts to throw audience members into the exciting world of an autistic child living in Swindon, UK and succeeds at doing so excellently. We see Joseph Ayre give a stunning and believable performance while he plays one of the most well-written characters known in fiction. One could argue that’s an overstatement, but to me Mark Haddon -writer of the original novel that Stephens adapted- really hit the nail on the head when he challenged the complexity of an autistic child’s mind”.

Haashim Nisar (year 11)

Oxford

University Summer School Experience For Year 11 Students

Thiswas a 7-day course where I learnt many different skills: critical thinking, adapting to the surroundings, independence and socialising at different levels.

During the course we learnt about subjects that would not typically be taught at GCSE level, e.g. ethics morals and philosophy and astro physics. By doing this, it has broadened my horizon and allowed me to do extra research on topics that I have a great interest in.

My favourite academic session was the biological and earth science, as they taught us what different herbal remedies can be used to treat types of diseases; why, who and where they use these types of treatments. They showed how western medicine uses these natural treatments to strengthen the drugs given out to patients of our society. This was fascinating as it relates back to what we use today and has encouraged me to do more research based on these topics.

“I think the Oxford University Summer School was a really eye-opening experience into university and adult life. I managed to meet a lot of the students there and went on a campus tour around Oxford. It also helped me home in on what I want to be in the future and the path I need to take in order to get there. I took part in several subject courses taught by university professors which enlightened me about different topics which were extremely fun and informative. Overall this was a valuable opportunity and I would love to do it any again in the future.”

“I was fortunate enough to be selected with two other students from Cranford to go on a one week course to Oxford University during the summer holidays. We were privileged to get a taste of what university life is like for a student. There were students from different schools around England and this experience allowed us all to get to know each other and become friends. We learnt a range of subjects, varying from ethical and moral philosophy to astrophysics to maths and economics. Everyone was very friendly and supportive and the tutors were knowledgeable in their respective subjects. This experience allowed me to build up my confidence and widen my horizons”.

Besides the academic sessions, we also had outdoor activities to participate in, this ranged from punting to a ghost tour around Oxford. My favourite activity was punting, as it’s not something I would do on a day-to-day basis or even occasionally, so it was definitely a different experience and one that I was good at. Free time was also given so we had a chance to experience what university life will be like.

As a follow up to the course, Cranford has arranged hour-long mentoring sessions with a student mentor from the university until the end of year 11. I have been paired with a medicine undergraduate, as this is the career path I am interested in. Because of this, I have a better understanding of what the medicine career demands and the steps required to meet them. My mentor also helps with balancing out different subjects I should be revising for and how to prepare for exams. This experience has really helped me grow as a student and I am very grateful for the opportunity given me by the school and the Oxford University volunteers who have helped bring the summer course together.

Tavleen Bumrah (year 11)

Hudaifa Mohamed (year 11)

Kiranjeet Seehra (year 11)

Presentation Evening 2016

OnThursday 4th November 2016, Cranford held its annual Presentation of Awards evening to recognise and celebrate the achievements of our students and school community. We were delighted to welcome Sir John Sorrell CBE, a UK Business Ambassador, British designer and co-founder of the Sorrell Foundation as our guest speaker and to present the awards to our prize winners.

Presentation evening is always an amazing occasion attended by staff, students, parents, members of the Academy Trust and invited guests from education and business, who are treated to an evening of joy and inspiration, entertainment and stories. This year was no exception.

The theme for the evening was, “Never Judge a Book by its Cover”, a theme which is highly relevant in the current world climate and one which so often we get lost in through social media, celebrity and reality TV.

The evening began with a wonderful performance by Marco Paoli, music teacher, singing “Vaga Luna” by Bellini, accompanied on the piano by Teodor Jevtic, year 11. This was followed by the welcome speech from Kevin Prunty, Executive Headteacher who said; “Each year I can guarantee you an evening of great joy, inspiration, and pride. I would also begin the evening by offering my congratulations to all the nominees and award winners for the sustained effort that belies these achievements (and to their teachers and families who have given them the necessary support and encouragement to be so successful). Our award winners are already demonstrating the potential to achieve, to inspire and lead others and we expect they will go on to great things whilst always remembering their roots”. He then handed over to the Leadership Quartet, Head Boy Hasan Almosoy, Head Girl Sahithya Natarajan, Deputy Head Boy, Mandip Gill and Deputy Head Girl Rimsha Amjad who did a magnificent job of hosting the evening.

This was followed by an extract from our Shakespeare in School production “Othello” performed by students in years 7-11. It was outstanding. This is the third year of Cranford’s

participation in this national initiative. Their ensemble performance and was very much one of the highlights of the evening.

Sir John’s speech followed the performance He praised the cast saying; “How do you follow that?”. His speech covered a number of humorous and personal experiences: his love of design and the importance of the arts in education, his work as Chairman of the University of the Arts London and the Creative Industries Federation and his aim with his wife, Lady Frances Sorrell, to inspire creativity in young people by founding the National Saturday Art Club. He spoke passionately about the partnership of the Sorrell Foundation with Cranford through the Saturday Art Club, originally run by universities. Cranford is the only school in the country to run such a club.

After his speech, Sir John presented the awards, including two community awards: one to Taz Virdee, Heston West Big Local volunteer for services to the community and the QPR Scholar of the Year award to Romeo Akinola. In addition he presented all the students who attend the Saturday Art club with their Bronze award. The Rod Lewis Award, was presented by his widow, acting Chair of the Academy Trust, to Vanessa Tutt for her work with the Jamie’s Farm initiative supporting young people in challenging circumstances.

The penultimate performance of the evening,”Gnossienne #1” by Satie, was beautifully played by Teodor Jevtic and this was followed by the Vote of Thanks from the Quartet and a presentation of art work to Sir John to remind him of his evening at Cranford.

The formal part of the evening concluded with a performance by the Cranford Choir of Stephen Sondheim’s “Children Will Listen” and everyone was invited to partake in some refreshments and to meet all the prize winners.

As Mr Prunty said, the evening was full of great joy, inspiration and pride: a very special occasion for everyone.

Jessica Joyce (Event Organiser)

Thank you so much for your kindness and hospitalitylast Thursday evening. It was a wonderful PrizeGiving with fantastic performances and it was allbrilliantly organised. I very much enjoyed being withyou, the students, the staff and the parents. Manythanks for such a warm welcome and also for thewonderful painting and beautiful flowers.

We have all been incredibly impressed with Cranford’soutward-looking, positive attitude and its ambitionsfor all the students, which is why the Saturday Clubhas flourished.

Finally, please can I say a special thank you toAlan who looked after me so well on the evening, toJessica who made everything work like clockworkand, of course, to Pam who has been so wonderfulwith the Saturday Club, and it was great to seeher Thursday too.

Kind regards John

“Tonight, I was invited to a Presentation of Awards evening at Cranford Community College in Hounslow. It was a fantastic evening and wonderful to see so many young people doing so well. One of the highlights was watching a performance of William Shakespeare’s Othello by students. I met with the guest speaker for the night, Sir John Sorrell, of the Sorrell Foundation. Thank you to Kevin Prunty, Executive Headteacher and National Leader of Education and Alan Fraser, Assistant Headteacher for the invitation to a very enjoyable event.

Cranford is one of our “jewels in the crown” of schools in the borough and has an excellent record of high achievers. I was delighted to attend and help them celebrate this evening”. Steve Curran (Leader of the Council)

Sir John Sorrell CBE (The Sorrell Foundation)

Cranford Community College remains committed to ensuring the widest range of educational activities matching and exceeding the best of any school or academy in the maintained and private school sectors. Students are now able to arrive on site at any time from 7.30 a.m. and engage in activities from 8am. Starting this year we have launched our period zero activities including provision from QPR, Brentford Football Club and London Welsh Rugby Club, the Big Local and activities our own staff are offering. The benefits of attending activities in the wider curriculum include improved social interaction, self-esteem, and cultural capital and widens students’ life experiences.

The period zero activities are an excellent time for students to work on developing other skills outside of the normal school curriculum. Over the past term we have seen students attending clubs including:

• Craft Club

• Maths Homework Club

• Maths Study Group

• Mindfulness

• English Drop in

• Chess

• Rugby

• Personal Statement Support

• Recreational Wall Ball

• Recreational Basketball

• Technical Talk and Computer Games

• Ladies Rugby and WellBeing

• English Support

• Homework and Games

• Card Games

• Careers Club

• Basketball

• Revision Skills

• Choir

• Knex Club

• Maths Club

• Physical Education Theory

• Board Games Club

• Homework and Games

• Textiles Workshops Decorative techniques and felt making

• Learning skills on using different tools and machinery

• Photography Club

Learning (photography skills and lighting)

Netball Training

German Grammar

Current Affairs

Netball

Urdu Grammar

Ladies Rugby

STEM club

Panjabi Grammar

Recreational Fitness

Computer Programming

Spanish Grammar

Coursework support

RSL L2 Music Course

New activities are currently being introduced with plans for a more extensive offer throughout the year. This is a very exciting and innovative initiative and once again proves Cranford’s role in leading the way to new and exciting learning opportunities and enrichment for all.

Kevin Biggs (Senior Teacher -Schools Organisation, Management and Careers)

Throughout the Autumn term the Science department ran a STEM club every Thursday morning during period zero. Many students attended each week to develop and broaden their science and engineering minds. The activities have ranged from dissecting eyeballs, to making bridges, designing wind turbines, making paper aeroplane launchers, presenting their scientific research and modelling avalanches, plus much, much more.

“STEM club is really fun and I really like it. I love all of the activities and have enjoyed sharing my passion with new students from different year groups”.

Neha Khendria (year 7)

“I have regularly attended STEM club and have found it really interesting because we do crazy experiments. It is also fun because you get to meet other students and teachers. I love working in a team creating cool stuff”.

Yasmina Debieche (year 7)

“STEM club is very good because I get to do new experiments every week. I haven’t learnt any of them in lessons, so it is very interesting and fun. I also enjoy this time as I am with my friends and making new ones. My favourite activity was the experiment carousel”.

Sukhpreet Bual (year 7)

I like STEM club because it is enjoyable. It provides a chance for us to come here and ask about the science we learnt in class, as well as learning completely new things. I really enjoyed trying to work out the spinning coin trick”.

Hayyan Khanzada (year 7)

“STEM club is a really fun way to start a morning. I thoroughly enjoy science and STEM club provides me with an opportunity to explore it further. I enjoy looking forward to STEM club and my favourite activity was dissecting the eye of a lamb. Every lesson is different, so I look forward to it every week”.

Guy Boonyarakyotin (year 9)

“STEM club is really fun because we do different things each week, where we do not have the opportunity to learn in lessons. I do not have a favourite activity because I have enjoyed all of them”.

David Duda (year 9)

Kristy Foale (Science Department)

Hartlands Site Formal Opening

Kevin Prunty, Executive Headteacher and members of the Senior Leadership Team from Cranford and Berkeley Primary School were delighted to attend the official opening of Hartlands Gypsy and Travellers Caravan Park Site on Friday 2nd December 2016.

Cranford Community College supported the London Borough of Hounslow to improve and expand the site to the clean safe environment it is today. Prior to the improvement the site was hazardous and not conducive to helping the children who live on the site being successful in their studies and development.

The formal opening was attended by some families from the site and a number of dignitaries including; Steve Curran, Leader of the Council, Mary Hartley, Chief Executive London Borough of Hounslow, Councillor Elizabeth Hughes and Councillor Bath, councillor for Heston West. Tom Copley, Labour Londonwide Assembly Member formerly opened the site. A tree was planted in recognition of the opening by David Smith, a pupil at Berkeley Primary School and one of the children living on the site, assisted by Mr Copley, Cynthia Egweh and Mr Prunty. Mrs Smith made a short speech thanking the school and the council for their support in improving the site.

This initiative is a good example of the work Cranford Community College does to support our students and their families to be successful. We are delighted to see so many families now taking pride in the place they live. Being a good neighbour is very important to us and we look forward to many years to come of the residents of Hartlands and Cranford Community College being good neighbours.

Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher – Community)