2021 / 2022
PARTNERSHIP: Berkeley Academy - Heston West Big LocalHounslow Promise - Hounslow Education Partnership
I am delighted that you are now reading our annual publication of the Cranford Review for 2021/22. There is so much to celebrate, and this publication captures some of the many opportunities offered to our students and community during this past year. I have been involved in the leadership of Cranford for 25 years and can truly state this is an amazing school full of a range of opportunities both within the formal curriculum but also outside of lessons during period 0 and 6, school break times, weekends, and school holidays.
Editor-in-chief: Jessica Joyce Graphic Design: EnzoGD.com / Enzo Gianvittorio Danese Printed by: Springfieldpapers.com
Kevin Prunty Executive Headteacher & National Leader of Education Jenny Lewis Chair of the Academy Trust Peter Stumpf Associate Headteacher Rita Berndt Joint Head of School Rob Ind Joint Head of School Maria Bramhall Deputy Head of School Alan Fraser Assistant Headteacher / Director of Community Partnerships & Income Generation
Ofsted inspected the school in March 2022 and the feedback they gave the trustees on the quality of education was excellent. Our students, staff, parents and trustees really took the opportunity to show the school as it is and we are very thankful for the contributions everyone made. Everyone was stunning and the unity and pride shown was both impressive and humbling. Middle and senior leadership shone with a very strong light – which makes me very proud, and the inspection team were also able to see how well colleagues at all levels and students support each other. I had a clear and strong sense of envy from the inspectors who were also school practitioners when they were feeding back on what they saw. That level of mutual support is not automatic in any organisation, but it is a reassuring feature of relationships at Cranford. The only area for action was Ofsted’s new policy that all schools and academies must now offer the national curriculum to be considered as Outstanding.
There are so many things to be thankful for in our world (not everybody’s world but in ‘our world’ and ‘our experience’). We are so fortunate in so many ways but, at Cranford, we have never rested on our laurels or wallowed in our successes or taken for granted our liberties or our opportunities. Instead, we always work strategically to make things better and better, for our children, for each other and for our community. We do this every day, and year on year.
“Cranford Review” © 2006-2022 is a publication of Cranford Community College, distributed in printed copies, either available in PDF (digital format) to be downloaded from our school website: www.cranford.hounslow.sch.uk
Cranford Community College is a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales under company registration number 7559818 at High St, Cranford, Middlesex TW5 9PD
Our outcomes for students have been truly exceptional, yet again, and on the next few pages you can find out more about our excellent A-Level, T-Level, vocational and GCSE results.
Over the last two decades, examination outcomes have been a major strength of Cranford Community College and summer 2022 has been no exception. We are particularly pleased with the Year 13 cohort as this group have never sat formal examinations before until this summer. They did not disappoint us. The destinations where these young people go to after Cranford are a testament in themselves to their hard work, resilience and determination.
EDITORIAL
Kevin ExecutivePruntyHeadteacher & National Leader of Education by Kevin Prunty
As I mark my own Silver Anniversary at Cranford Community College, I reflect on the achievements and successes of thousands and thousands of young people in the quarter of a century that I have led the school and its community work. What has been achieved has only been possible by the dedication, hard work and passion of parents, students, teachers, support staff, trustees, alumni, partners and the whole community who have ensured that the word COMMUNITY is at the heart of everything we do. I am always energised by the sheer scale of our staff and students’ achievements, and I hope that you too will gain a flavour of these when you read this Review.
I want to reconceptualise that ‘new normal’ to ensure that, for us and for our entire community, it is even better than normal would have been had there been no pandemic. It can be better, even with all the political and financial pressures that fill the news media. Some great things happened during and as a result of the pandemic – but greater things can still be made to happen in recovery. We have back control and where it is not given back, we must wrest it back. We have back democracy and where it is not given back, we must wrest it back. We must not just revert to the agenda as we saw it in 2019/2020, resilience is about ‘catchup’ to a certain extent but for our children’s’ lives to be better, resilience and recovery must also be about ‘acceleration’.
Our 6 whole School Priorities may very well be immutable, although even that is up for grabs in the genuine consultation that the Community Conference represents.
I will be encouraging them to not just think about how they would like to see the school improve but what they would really want to be better for their own children if they become parents.
When I started as Headteacher, I introduced the first community conference in a plan of one per decade so that I could understand better what our community (staff, children, parents, trustees, contractors, businesses, the LA, local charities and the community in general) would want from the school in the 10 years that would follow. I believe we have delivered fully on the things our community has prioritised in the first and second such conference. I am planning another community conference in October 2023, to find out once again what this community wants from the academy for which we are the ‘care-takers’. This will happen just before Cranford Community College celebrates its Golden Anniversary. Crucial to the Community Conference and its impact will be garnering the considered views of our pupils, many of whom will be the parents of future pupils at Cranford.
2021 / 2022 1 EDITORIAL
Here is a reminder of these priorities: Identity 1: ► Inclusion, opportunities and safeguarding Identity 2: ► Community, high quality alliances and partnerships – Transforming a Community Identity 3: ► Innovation, research and development Identity 4: ► Building social and cultural capital Identity 5: ► Excellence (not perfection) in all areas Identity 6: ► Standing out from the crowd
One of the greatest blessings we have now is an opportunity to develop the concept of ‘normality’. Normality does not mean everything returning to how it was prior to the pandemic – It has to be much better. After the first lockdown when we started talking about returning to normality, the term ‘new normal’ was often used. It was used in a deficit way, implicitly the new normal ‘would be like the old normal but we would have to live with some additional restrictions.
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Cranford’s results saw significant rises across the top grades and the proportion of students achieving A*- B grades has doubled to 44%.
Exams are back and A Level Examination Results 2022
“We are delighted with the fantastic performances of our A level students this year” said Executive Headteacher Kevin Prunty. “The students have worked extremely hard, in particularly challenging circumstances, and we are very proud of their results”.
“We are also very pleased with the performance of our first cohort of T Level students who have done brilliantly.” Many of these students will now progress directly into employment as Early Years Educators or Digital Production, Design and Development professionals whilst others take up graduate apprenticeships and university offers.
Amongst the many students heading off to Russell group universities, there are some real stand out high fliers:
• Ahmed Ali turned down his place at Cambridge University, despite achieving four A* grades, as he has been offered a full scholarship to read Maths at Imperial College, London. Also going to Imperial will be Rayyan Khan (A*, A*, A) who will study Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
C ranford’s tremendous A level success stories this year are even more remarkable when we remember the disruption this cohort suffered in Year 12. For many of these students, this will have been their first ever series of national exams and it was a bumper year for the top A*/A grades which jumped 10% from 2019 to represent 20% of all grades.
• Iman Jaura achieved an A* grade in RE to go with A grades in History and Maths and has won a place at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University where she will study Law.
RESULTSLEVELA
• Ehsan Ayobi ’s straight A grades in Chemistry, Maths and Physics have helped him secure a prestigious Civil Engineering apprenticeship at Balfour Beatty. A huge thank you and well done to all of our students and their teachers. Rob Ind (Joint Head of School)
results are better than ever at Cranford
3 RESULTSLEVELA
• Rohan Kapoor was another student who achieved a perfect set of four A* grades and will be reading Maths at Warwick. He will be joined there by Kavleen Arora and Manpreet Bahtra who gained superb results of A*, A*, A and will study Law and Computer Science respectively.
• Kings College, London has proved popular with Cranford students this year, particularly for future doctors. Aliya Abdullai (A*, A*, A*) will be reading Medicine at Kings alongside Shargeel Hussain (A*, A*, A) and Filsan Abdillahi (A, A, A). They will be joined at Kings College, London by Zehra Hasan (A*, A*, A, A) reading Computer Science and Raaid Athar (A, A, A) reading Electronic Engineering.
• Other high fliers staying in London include Mohammed Abdul Hamid (A*, A*, A*), Faizaan Abbas (A*, A*, A) and Ajeet Bhatti (A*, A*, A, A) who will all be attending University College London to read Maths, Electronic Engineering and Law respectively; Zayia Berum (A*, A*, A*) and Guneet Dhameja (A, A, A) who will be heading to London School of Economics to read Economic History and Geography and Economics; whilst Priyajeet Bagga (A*, A*, A, Distinction*), Sybil Raposo (A, A, A) and Jasmin Kaur (A, A, A) have opted for Royal Holloway to study Economics, Business and Management and Psychology respectively; and Athisha Sivabalan (A*, A* A) will read Computer Science with Maths at Queen Mary, alongside Dua-E Zehra (A, A, A) studying Accounting and Management.
RESULTSGCSE
GCSE Results
Executive Headteacher, Kevin Prunty said: “We are absolutely delighted by the brilliant GCSE results our Year 11 students have achieved today. We knew they wouldn’t let a pandemic hold them back! Progress is phenomenal with two thirds of students performing well above national expectations. This is particularly impressive given that 89% entered all EBACC subjects which is more than double the national average and testament to our outstandingly broad and balanced academic curriculum”. There are so many Cranford students who have done exceptionally well it is hard to pick just a few. Some particular stars include: • Nancy Harkous who achieved an incredible 10 grade 9s, including the top grade 9 in all her attainment 8 subjects, resulting in an attainment score of 90 which cannot be beaten anywhere in the country! Nancy will continue at Cranford Sixth form and is intending to study Further Maths and Spanish at A level – well done Nancy.
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Cranford2022
Students Shine As Exams Return C ranford students have achieved another set of fantastic GCSE results, despite all the challenges they have faced over the past two years.
GCSE Results 2022 • Tegh Kang, Abdulkhaliq Powell and Prem Pun gained six grade 9s each averaging well above 8 across their subjects. All three intend to remain at Cranford for A levels. • Ahmad Ahmadi, Hanan Benaissa, Tamana Qadari, Musa Raza, Alia Samad and Ifrah Shehzad managed an amazing 22 grade 9s and 23 grade 8s between them. • Mafee Ehsan obtained an incredible Value Added score of 4.4, meaning he secured on average well over four grades better than other students nationally from his starting point across every subject. Juan Molano Repollo also scored a Progress 8 score of above 4! • Sameiksha Sharma who has only been with us for one year after arriving in the UK in September 2021. She didn’t let that hold her back though and her hard work and the support of her teachers have helped her secure an unbelievable 4 grade 9s and 2 grade 8s. Congratulations to all our students and staff on a truly tremendous effort. Rob Ind (Joint Head of School) 5 RESULTSGCSE
Cranford OFSTED Inspection 2022
Everyone in the school community came together to do the school proud and reflect what a truly great learning institution Cranford is. The student survey and pupil discussion groups showed that Cranford students are incredibly positive about the school and their learning experience here.
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management •
The governors of the academy played a key role in the inspection too and reassured inspectors that Cranford is a very well-run school and that leadership at all levels is very strong.
We are very grateful to everyone who contributed to the inspection and would like to share some quotes from the report which is available on the Ofsted and the Cranford websites.
The previous inspection in 2012 was against a very different and easier framework so we were under no illusions that the inspectors would leave no stone unturned in order accurately assess the school. HMCI has been clear that she wants a large reduction in the number of ‘outstanding’ schools and we were fully aware that this would be part of the inspection agenda. The new framework has set a much higher standard.
provision
During the two days the team of five inspectors visited lessons and observed social times. They met with students, leaders, teachers, support staff and governors. They looked at student books, curriculum plans and scrutinized school documentation including policies and records. They also conducted online surveys with students, staff and parents. The team were incredibly thorough in their work.
6 2022INSPECTIONOFSTED
C ranford was inspected by Ofsted on 9th and 10th March 2022. The was the first inspection that the school had had in almost 10 years following the removal in 2020 of the exemption for outstanding schools.
Following a very rigorous two days, Ofsted concluded that Cranford is GOOD in every area: Quality of education Behaviour and attitudes and Sixth-form
Peter Stumpf (Associate Headteacher)
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Parents completed the anonymous survey online, and again were overwhelming positive about the school and the education that the school provides for their children.
Staff worked very hard, particularly in the target ‘Deep Dive’ departments where inspectors focused heavily on their first day here. The Heads of Department, as well as the rest of the subject teachers, did a stunning job and received incredibly positive feedback. Well done to English, Science, History, IT & Computing, and to Music who were very much in the limelight during the inspection.
The staff survey was a key feature of the inspection as inspectors focus heavily on what it is like to be a teacher at the school. The survey received an incredibly high response rate and was overwhelmingly positive – Cranford is a great place to work and one where people fell very well supported and able to develop their careers. During the inspection, staff supported each other immensely, but the important point is that the event drew everyone together.
In line with existing inspection practice Cranford was given just one day’s notice regarding the inspection which meant that inspectors really got to see the school as it truly is every day.
• Personal Development • Leadership
• Mind, Body and Soul include learning needlecraft, debating contemporary issues, swimming and learning about different languages and cultures
• Leaders are committed to helping pupils gain experiences and develop new interests beyond their academic work
• Teachers use their strong subject knowledge to enrich pupils’ use of technical words and deepen pupils’ understanding of complex issues
• Pupils are settled and attentive in class
Personal Development
• The personal, social and health education and relationships and sex education programmes are planned carefully for each year groups and are delivered by specialist teams
7 2022INSPECTIONOFSTED
• Pupils receive extra help with reading when needed so that they catch up quickly and develop reading
• Leaders ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported
• Pupils are happy and safe in school
•timeTeachers and teaching assistants communicate closely so that the most effective strategies for individual pupils are identified and used consistently
• Through the school’s ‘Mind, Body and Soul’ programme, pupils are involved in a variety of activities each term
• Pupils interact positively and respectfully in class and around the school
Leadership and Management
Quality of Education
• Pupils gain qualifications in a wide range of subjects. This helps them to be well prepared for their next stage in education and employment.
benefit from having access to highquality texts in the classroom and well-stocked school libraries
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• Leaders are committed to providing a safe environment in which pupils’ education and experiences give them a broad range of options for their future
• Members of the governing body organise appropriate training for themselves to help them fulfil their roles
• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective
• The safeguarding and pastoral teams work together to identify and review support for selected pupils
• Leaders are committed to supporting pupils throughout the year, with staff available through the school holidays if needed
Sixth-form Provision
Staff felt well supported by leaders. They appreciated that leaders consider staff’s workload and well-being and provide opportunities for professional growth
• There is a comprehensive careers education and information programme providing advice and guidance on a range of future pathways, including apprenticeships and university courses
• Sixth form students enjoy taking on leadership responsibilities, including being part of the student leadership team and organising charity events.
• The safeguarding team works closely with outside agencies so that appropriate actions are taken
• Teachers help pupils to learn and provide support with any aspects pupils find difficult
• Leaders have high expectations for pupils’
• Curriculum leaders have thought carefully about how pupils will develop knowledge and skills over
• Wider curricular activities include theatre trips, overseas travel and an award scheme to develop essential skills for life and work
• Teachers are ambitious for their pupils
Behaviour and Attitudes
• Leaders, including the governing body, build strong links with parents, carers and the local community
•fluencyAllpupils
• Teachers routinely refer back to what pupils have learned previously and provide useful hints to help them remember facts
• The school has a well-established programme of curriculum enrichment opportunities for pupils
Ofsted Quotes
• Teachers check pupils’ learning regularly
• Pupils attend school regularly
•achievementPupilssaid that there are trusted adults they can speak to
Our time in lockdown was not how we would have preferred to teach, but it did result in a wealth of arts material being made available online. We have continued to benefit from these and during our studies, students have been able to watch productions and behind-the-scenes interviews with actors and directs from the through the National Theatre Online Library and through our subscription to Digital Theatre Plus, an online platform which houses hundreds of filmed productions of plays from leading theatre companies across the world alongside teaching resources, documentaries, films and interviews. We haven’t been satisfied with just online productions, however, and have started to reintroduce departmental trips. We took a group of year 7students to Guildford to enjoy an outdoor performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and Years 12 and 13 loved their trip to see Hamlet at The Globe. We are working away planning more exciting trips and opportunities for the year ahead – watch this space!
Evelyn Brooks (Head of English Department)
8 ENGLISH
We introduced a host of new, exciting topics to study in English this year: Year 7 were the first year to read ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and we loved hearing all of your dramatic readings in lesson. Year 8 did some speaking and listening and got to speak passionately and persuasively about topics they felt strongly about; well done – many of you had us convinced! Year 9 started a new unit reading ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell and learnt some powerful lessons about rhetoric and allegory. They also learnt some interesting new metaphorical ways to tease each other – we’ve heard you accusing each other of being a ‘Napoleon’ or a ‘Snowball’! In years 10-13, we have continued to teach all the poems, plays, novels, and skills necessary for excellence at GCSE and A Level. Our subscriptions to GCSE Pod, an excellent resource for revising key content through videos, activities, and self-marking quizzes, Audiopi (a bank of podcasts on GCSE set texts, available online and as an app), E-Magazine, a publication by the English Media Centre which contains a plethora of interesting articles that helps students build their research skills and find their own, individual ways to approach key texts, and
This year has been a return to normal for many students and a completely new normal for those who had yet to experience a full year in school at Cranford. We hope you have enjoyed studying in person as much as we have enjoyed teaching you. We said it last year and we’ll say it again: the students we teach really are the best part of our jobs!
W hen students started school again in September 2021, we all felt excitement at returning for – finally – a full year of inperson schooling. There was much talk in the news about a ‘return to normal’ but, what did that mean for the English department? We went back to sitting in classrooms together, sharing our thoughts and ideas; we benefited from being with our peers and learning from their successes and mistakes; we returned to having live feedback and modelling in lessons to help us progress. We also had to go back to practising our great classroom behaviours of listening, waiting, and raising hands – there are no mute buttons in the classroom! So, if that’s what we went back to, does that mean that this year was just like all the previous ones? No!
DepartmentEnglish
Massolit, an online database of short lecture series by university professors on a range of subjects (including every set text for A Level and GCSE alongside wider contextual and genre studies to support students’ wider knowledge and to stretch and challenge). Many of our students will have done Massolit quizzes written by Ms Brooks who worked with the site, writing questions to accompany these lectures in order to provide a more interactive learning and revision experience.
While the course of the minibuses never did run smooth, the students will be remembering this ‘rare vision’ for a long time.
For A Level English students, trips to the theatre are some of the highlights of the course and we were so excited to see this return in 2022. With tickets eagerly booked in the Autumn term, and fingers kept crossed against any covid-based chaos, the English department returned to The Globe theatre almost two years to the day since their last trip to see Shakespeare’s greatest (and longest) tragedy: Hamlet. The Sam Wanamaker theatre (a replica of the Jacobean Blackfriars’ theatre) is the indoor “little sister” of Shakespeare’s Globe on the Southbank; intimate and candlelit, it holds just 340 in the audience, seated as close to the stage as humanly possible. In this space, Hamlet’s soliloquies became a direct conversation with the audience – the question “am I a coward?” was repeated until there was an answer. This was a brave interpretation of the play which attracted love/hate reviews – but we loved it. I’ve never laughed so much in a production of Hamlet (and I’ve seen more than 20)!
Aisling (EnglishMcConvilleDepartment)
Year 12 went on a Wednesday night in the middle of our Ofsted visit, and Year 13 went a month later. With two intervals and a running time of more than 3 hours it was a bit of a marathon performance (we didn’t get back to Hounslow until 1am), but students came out with a greater understanding of the play and a wealth of ideas about possible ways of interpreting the text which stood them in great stead in their summer exams. It was incredible to be back in the theatre and we can’t wait to go again.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Year 7 Theatre Performance Time Out: ****
“This ‘Hamlet’ is a wild, wild ride, that shows Fouracres to be a major star in the making and Holmes to finally be hitting the form at the Globe that he did at the Lyric. It’s ‘Hamlet’, but funnier, scarier and more daring than you’ve seen it before”.
Hamlet at the Globe Theatre March 2022
Evelyn Brooks (Head of English Department)
9 ENGLISH
“This is the best day of my life”. (Jagga Singh (year 7) “The show was amazing and I really liked watching this summery play in an outdoor theatre”. Melanie Khanal (year 7) “I really liked watching the play we had been learning about because it helped me understand it. Bottom was really funny”.
Paramveer Sidhu (year 7)
On Saturday 18th June 2022, 35 year 7 students enjoyed their very own Midsummer Night’s Dream: a trip to an outdoor theatre performance of Shakespeare’s famous Athenian comedy. The students absolutely loved watching the play they had been studying in their English lessons come to life in front of them. The setting, a forest clearing in the grounds of Guildford Castle, lent itself perfectly to the heady midsummer setting of the play. The students on the trip were discussing the play for weeks afterwards, talking about their favourite characters, actors, and moments in the performance. It is so important for students to experience Shakespeare exactly how it was intended, and these lucky year 7 students will be able to draw on this experience as they continue to read and love Shakespeare into year 8 and beyond.
English Department Reading List
The E nglish department want to share with the school the best books they’ve read this year! Teachers have put up posters all around school to share what they are reading. Have you seen them around the school? Why not ask your teacher about their book and if they would recommend it; you might find some great reads!
10 ENGLISH
Spanning Prohibition-era Montana, the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, New Zealand, wartime London, and modern-day Los Angeles, Great Circle tells the unforgettable story of a daredevil female aviator determined to chart her own course in life, at any cost.” – I love the combination of rich historical detail, a human narrative about love, relationships and family, and sublime landscapes.
Veronica Chow: Anthropocene by Burtynsky, Baichwal, de Pencier
This is an Introduction to Philosophy by The School of Life. Without prompting, they ask some of the largest questions: about time, mortality, happiness and the meaning of it all. This is a book that helps to answer some of those questions.
Aisling McConville: Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
At once an achingly beautiful love story and a potent insight into race and masculinity, Open Water asks what it means to be a black person facing discrimination, to be vulnerable when you are only respected for strength, to find safety in love, only to lose it.
Bobbie Mahendru: Big Ideas for Curious Minds
The Anthropocene is a proposed geological epoch which suggests that human impact is becoming the most dominant factor on changes in the environment. With insights into this issue through photography, essays and commissioned poetry by Atwood, it makes a really poignant text. (Best enjoyed with a good watch of The Salt of the Earth - Salgado)
Evelyn Brooks: Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
I read it with my children and they were engrossed. It is also my go-to gift for all their friends !
Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola
Not just one the most critical and influential works in science fiction, but an exquisitely detailed and completely immersive experience that examines big philosophical questions about human nature and politics, as well as the more micro-experiences of dealing with grief and responsibility. Ahead of its time –it’s hard to believe it was published in 1965 !
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
Sixth Form Favourite books:
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Huda Sharif (year 12) outlines the sixth form favourite reads of the year. Some are so good they even got sent by Uber to friends in the middle of the night !
Circe by Madeline Miller Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
This book follows the relationship of newly married Roy and Celestial, and explores what being married means in contemporary America. Almost at once, the couple’s relationship is ripped apart when Roy is convicted of a crime that both he and Celestial know he didn’t commit. Roy’s time in prison passes, but when he is released things are not as they once were. I think this book is really important because unlike so many of the other narratives we read nowadays, the book begins with marriage, and the hope and promise of the future. The reader is transported, with the couple, into an actually quite uncertain future, that is perhaps more realistic and reflective of relationships today. How good does that sound !
Cicely Long: Dune by Frank Herbert
Oscar Johnson: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
The Maths department is really proud of how all of our students have worked this year, dealing with their second year of living through a pandemic. The students have been mature and eager to learn and have done themselves proud. We have been particularly impressed by the dedication shown by the year 11s and year 13s in preparing for their GCSEs and A levels. We are delighted to have had over half of year 11 attending half term sessions and 75 percent of year 13 coming in to multiple holiday revision sessions. We wish year 11 and 13 all the best for results day. I am sure many of the students would like to thank the teachers in the department for their devotion to their students, and their flexibility in coping with teaching simultaneously in person to most of the class while still including online students who have needed to isolate at home. Also, I would like to thank the teachers who gave up their holiday time to help prepare students for their summer exams.
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Maths 2021-2022Department
Sarah Brackley (Head of Maths Department)
Jasmin Talwar, Mohammad Chauhary and Yunus Sheikh (all year 8) also gained Silver Awards. Bronze Awards were also achieved by 20 students in Year 8 and 19 students in year 7. We are very proud of our students and look forward to more Maths Challenge success next year.
Junior and Senior Maths Challenge 2022
“Maths is important as it is used in everyday life: we can work out the area of a building using formulae, find out the price of a missing item using algebra and accurately analyse statistics. I enjoy maths because you can use reasoning to work out an answer. If you do not know the answer, you can use reasoning and knowledge from other topics to work it out. My favourite topic is algebra because, in an exam, you can substitute your answer into the question to see if you have got it right. I also like trigonometry as it is easy if you know sine, cosine, and tangent”.
Aman Brar (year 7)
Sarah Brackley (Head of Maths Department) & Loide Gando (Maths Gifted and Talented Coordinator)
Amani Salim, (year 10)
“I love Maths because the teachers are helpful, and the work is always a challenge. In my spare time and even during sanctions, Maths is my go-to subject and I even managed once to beat Mr Shingardia at a Maths question”.
“I like Maths because in lessons Sir does fun activities such as mini whiteboards and coloured cards”.
13 MATHS
Navjot Dhillon (year 7)
“I like Maths because Mr Plaha makes it fun and gives us a deeper understanding”.
Emily Gulbinaite (year 7)
“I love Maths because Mr Plaha makes the lessons really fun and interesting, even when we have lots of work to get done. I always look forward to Maths lessons”.
“I love Maths so much because I am able to understand it well and I love solving equations and problems. Once I can answer a difficult question, I am very satisfied. I also appreciate the Maths teachers giving up their own time to help us. I love Maths from the bottom of my heart, in fact, if I have nothing to do then I will do a bit of Maths for fun”.
Jaskiran Bhullar (year 9)
Asta Dias (year 10)
This year has seen great success in the Senior and Junior Maths challenges. In November, 38 sixth formers took part in the Senior Maths Challenge. We are delighted that 18 of these students’ won awards, including every student in our year 13 Further Maths class. We are particularly proud of our year 13 students who won Gold and Silver Awards. These are Ahmed Ali, who received Gold and the best score in school, Rohan Kapoor and Syed Hasnain, who also received Gold Awards, and Zehra Hasan, Faizaan Abbas and Yuvraj Gabrie, who all received Silver Awards. There were also nine year 13s and 3 year 12s who received Bronze Awards, including Manav Vivek, who had the best score in year 12.
In April, it was the turn of the year 7 and year 8 students in the Junior Maths Challenge. One hundred and thirty-six year 7 and 8 students took the Challenge in their Maths lessons, with 44 achieving Silver and Bronze Awards. Jenny Mistry (year 8) scored Best in School gaining a Silver Award, and Risha Patil scored best in year 7, also gaining a Silver Award.
During late September 2021, fourteen volunteers from Year 7 and twelve volunteers from Year 8 visited the memorial gardens at the front of the school to conduct their very own ecological survey. These students carried out detailed observations of the health of Cranford’s trees, which creepycrawlies were present, and some of the diseases our plants might be susceptible to. The students spotted the presence of lichen, slugs, spiders and even insects such as ladybirds – indicating our trees are extremely healthy and provide a suitable habitat for a range of organisms! These observations have been collected and sent to the Natural History Museum, and subsequently been used to inform a study about the health of Britain’s trees in a real-life scientific investigation.
As ever, the science department would like to both congratulate and thank all students for their outstanding hard work throughout an unpredictable and exceptionally busy year at Cranford. There have been many ups and downs from 2021 into 2022, but your attitude and the progress you have all made throughout this year has been truly exceptional, and we cannot wait to see what you have in store next year.
2021-2022 was a year where Science focused on bringing back the extra-ordinary to our students lives.
Angus Aughterson (Key Stage 4 Science Co-ordinator)
Practical work had a renewed focus, allowing students to continue to develop their analytical and investigative skills as part of their balanced curriculum. The re-introduction of STEM club, open to all Year 7 and Year 8 students, assisted by 6th form scientists, allowed younger pupils to develop the practical and working scientifically skills outside of lessons. Students in Years 7 and 8 who have made a particularly impressive start with their lives to Cranford were also rewarded with trips to the National Space Centre in Leicester and the Centre of the Cell exhibition at Queen Mary University respectively. Through opportunities such as these, as well as the Siemens Infinity STARSHIP challenge for Years 9 and 10, the Year 11’s participation in the Royal Society of Chemistry “Top of the Bench” competition, and school wide competitions and activities for British Science Week, we have endeavoured to ensure that we are fulfilling our departmental vision to increase the science capital of all students at Cranford. The return of external exams brought with it the opportunity to trial new research-based techniques such as Hattie’s Triage method. This involves unpicking the areas their specific class struggled with the most and targeting these areas through bespoke teaching during both lesson time and Period 0 and Period 6 revision. This tailored intervention approach not only proved to be an effective preparation strategy for public exams but would ensure that the department would continue to fulfil its mission statement to “maximise aspirations and opportunity for all students, regardless of background and ability”.
Angus Aughterson (Key Stage 4 Science Co-ordinator) and Amrat Atwal (Senior Teacher)
Science Department 2021-2022 Discovering The Hidden World of Trees Year 7 & 8 Ecological Survey 14 SCIENCE
Thursday
a
exciting,
Some of the
I attended Oxford’s online Physics Taster Day and we learnt a lot of stuff. I’ve attached the files of what I think was important in what we did. I also got told off for not including my units in one of the questions. We looked at spectra lines, diffraction grating and galaxies. They made all of us plot our galaxy’s velocities and distances to plot Hubble’s constant and showed us how the estimation of the universe’s age was predicted and how it’s not exact since we’re making the assumption that all galaxies have the same emitted brightness. Afterwards we did some estimation questions on how many swimming pools of coffee are brewed every day and how many dentists there are in Bristol. My estimate was way off for the dentists because I overestimated the population of Bristol. I was also taught that instead of using a random percentage which I thought were dentists, to think about supply and demand and how many dentists Bristol would need.
This year, a number of key stage 3 students took part in the weekly Cranford STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Club, every morning. Students took part in programme participating in range of fun, enquiry based practicals, supported by their class teachers as well as the Sixth Form STEM committee. sessions that students managed to take part
in include: • Flame tests – what colour do different metals burn? • Methane bubbles • Cell model making • Invisible ink experiment • Making a pH rainbow • Microscopy investigations & preparing our own slides • Egg drop experiment – how to protect an egg from a high fall? • Hands on dissections of organs & organisms Angus Aughterson (Key Stage 4 Science Co-ordinator) Science STEM Club 2021-2022 15 SCIENCE
Ziyad Nuru (year 12)
Physics Taster Day hosted by Oxford University
a
Angus Aughterson (Key Stage 4 Science Co-ordinator)
In the week of 14th-18th March 2022, British Science Week, this year based on the theme of “Growth”, was celebrated in style by the Cranford Science Department, through a range of activities through the school. This included a poster competition demonstrating growth, which was won by Elaha Najem (7X), who created an outstanding booklet on the growth of leaves in nature. Student activities included a school-wide competition guessing mystery microscope images, daily period 0 practical sessions for Year 7s and 8s, and Mind Body Soul sessions on how life could grow on Mars. During science lessons, pupils created scientific posters, learnt how to be engineers, thought analytically about climate change and population growth, and even finished their week by growing their own bacteria!
16 SCIENCE
Sukhman Anand (year 7) 17 SCIENCE
In the amazing Science Week, we all tried out different and cool experiments which we hadn’t done before. All the activities were fun! On Monday there were 5 mini experiments to do, and Mr Aughterson and the 6th Form helped us. There was an experiment where we used air through a straw to transfer coloured water to the bowl with normal water, we used tissue to show chromatography and we used Fairy Liquid to make a boat made from foil run fast in a bowl. There were two more experiments, one experiment was to use toothpicks and make them flow and the second was to use some chemical tablets to make a rocket fly. On Tuesday we used water bottles to make water fountains and on Friday we had a dissection session. There were so many things to do, and it was hard to choose what to do first as they were all just AMAZING! My favourite day throughout that week was the dissection session because it was something very new for me. It was very smelly and weird, but I loved it! The dissection session I think was very important because it was a real moment where we could learn more about animals and see them with our naked eye. I would like to say that if this event takes place next year, more people should take part and it would be memorable for them as well. Thank you.
Year 7 Science visit to the National Space Centre
Hammad Hanif (year 7)
“The National Space Centre is an incredible place and was a once in a lifetime experience with fascinating things to learn about and explore. There were lots of facts about the solar system and many interactive games/ activities to play and explore. Out of all the things we saw, I think my personal favourite was the Planetarium - it was all about the stars, solar systems, galaxies and ultimately, the universe. This was shown on a screen, and when it moved, it felt like we were moving in the Planetarium. Before we left, we got the opportunity to buy things from the shop, so we had our own little souvenirs of the space centre. Overall, the trip was fantastic! My friends and I would definitely go again, and I will forever cherish this magical experience”.
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“I, four teachers and a group of year 7 students visited this biggest space centre in the whole of the UK in Leicester. What I really enjoyed was the space artefacts that were displayed and the space theatre. I also really enjoyed the strawberry milkshakes! There was a big space rocket displayed on the top floor in the space centre. On each floor there was an interesting room full of the different facts about space - I would definitely go again if I had the chance”.
Devneet Ghaba (year 7)
Safiya Ali
Y ear 8 students were chosen for this trip on the basis of their outstanding Attitude to Learning and achievements throughout the year in science. After a long tube journey into East London, students were able to explore Queen Mary university, meet current students and attend two live interactive science shows carried out by university faculty. The first show focused on genes and evolution, developing students’ understanding of natural selection and the driving forces behind it. After a brief lunch, they took part in a interactive show around disease and sickness, aptly named: “Snot, Sick and Scabs”. After a stomach-churning hour where students developed their comprehension of how diseases spread and various events in the history of medicine, and a brief but eventful trip to the gift shop - we all left the university behind for our expedition back to Hounslow.
(year 8) 19 SCIENCE
“I enjoyed the trip a lot and it was fun. There were teachers in every group so we all felt safe. Everyone enjoyed the science show lead by two ladies who worked there. They did two shows, and they were both very interesting. Mr Aughterson was a very good group leader. He made the instructions clear and played games with us on the journey there. Everyone was polite and engaging in the show. Overall, it was a very good show and I hope to have more opportunities like this again”.
Angus Aughterson (Key Stage 4 Science Co-ordinator)
Year 8 Trip to the “Centre of The Cell” at Queen Mary University
Cranford Community College is so proud of all the year 13 students aiming high and working hard to get to their desired destination. We wish our outgoing year 13s all the best for their future endeavours.
The Sixth Form at Cranford Community College has a strong academic ethos and ensuring that all students have a strong pathway ahead of their sixth form studies is an important goal to ensure student success. The sixth form team continue to have very high expectations of year 13 students. They have pushed the sixth form students to aim high and aspire to obtain places at the top universities in the UK.
Aliya Abdullai Kings College London, Medicine
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Since the inception of the Early Entry UCAS programme, our year 13 students have received offers from Oxford, Cambridge, Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Sciences consistently every year. The current year 13s have continued this trend and here are a few notable mentions: Successful Year for Cranford’s UCAS Programme
• Supporting with interview skills with interview coaching.
• Guest speakers from a range of universities and industries to provide taster lectures, support and advice on university and career pathways.
Throughout the year, both year 12 and year 13 students have been attending events and taking on opportunities both within and outside of school that promoted high aspirations. These included;
• Promoting and supporting applications and visits to university summer schools, masterclasses and lectures.
At Cranford we have had a substantial proportion of the year 13 cohort applying for Early Entry UCAS courses. Many of our students were supported through the process of applying by the 15th October for Oxford, Cambridge and medical courses. Due to disruption in learning through the pandemic, these students received further support and guidance from the sixth form leadership team. Experienced teachers also supported this process by conducting mock interviews with the students.
We are extremely pleased that our year 13 students have received offers from their desired universities including a large number of students receiving offers from a range of Russell Group universities.
• Delivering workshops to support pupil applications to early entry courses.
Chetan Shingadia (Assistant Headteacher)
• Support and guidance with university admissions tests such as the BMAT, UKCAT and LNAT.
Another
Ahmed Ali University of Cambridge, Mathematics
Shargeel Hussain Kings College London, Medicine
We are pleased to share that it has been another successful year for Cranford Community College’s Year 13 students and their UCAS Applications to university. This year, we have had 93% of our students apply via the UCAS route and choose to go to university as a future pathway choice. All other students have chosen to pursue a degree level apprenticeship or go straight into full time employment using the knowledge and skills learnt from their sixth form studies.
Iman Jaura University of Cambridge, Law Rohan Kapoor University of Cambridge, Mathematics
• Follow up mentoring and support after students received their offers.
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The Sixth Form 16-19 Bursary financial support to allow eligible students to complete and send their UCAS application and to pursue their ambitions of attending university after completing their Post-16 studies at Cranford. This is extremely important to us as Cranford believes that facilitating access and raising aspirations will lead to high achievement. The bursary scheme enables eligible students to access the full breadth of the curriculum they are studying, feel safe in and out of school, and provide them with many opportunities beyond Cranford. At Cranford we are pleased that the bursary scheme supports excellent outcomes and reflects the school’s mission to transform a community.
Guneet Dhameja (year 13)
I was very well supported throughout the UCAS process. The hardest bit was my first interview but receiving help from the Sixth Form team to prepare for it definitely made me more confident going into the interview and after the first interview it became much easier. When writing my personal statement, it helped to look at pervious personal statements for the same course and planning but also getting advice from teachers on what should I add or amend. I look forward to achieving my predicted grades and going on to study Pharmacy at university.
The bursary provides financial support for eligible Post-16 students. These incudes the cost of school lunches, travel, textbooks, revision guides and learning equipment. This also included several students receiving a laptop which they can use in their independent study sessions in school and at home. These students received laptops not only for their time in the sixth form but also beyond that when they are studying for their university degree or working as an apprentice.
I would recommend starting as early as possible as this will help getting things done and make deadlines less stressful. Looking at any entrance exams you need to sit and starting to prepare as early as possible for them is also a good idea. They can be really difficult and require a decent amount of time to prepare for however don’t let it take over your A-levels, remember to manage your time wisely.
Prabhjot Bharaj (year 13)
21 FORMSIXTH
University of Nottingham - Pharmacy
Imperial College London - Electrical Engineering
London School of Economics - Geography with Economics
Chetan Shingadia (Assistant Headteacher)
Applying to UCAS is quite an overwhelming experience however, I was given support and guidance every step of the way. This was through lessons on how to write a personal statement, after school meetings for early entry and mock interviews, all of which were extremely beneficial in making my UCAS process as smooth as possible. The teachers were easy to approach and gave invaluable feedback on my personal statement which helped improve it dramatically. The mock interviews really helped me gain an understanding of what I could expect from an interview and allowed me to feel fully prepared and more confident. For anyone thinking of applying for early entry I would say to go for it, there is a lot of work that goes into it however it’s an experience I would never regret.
What is also fantastic is that the bursary also provides financial support for academic visits such as university open days, masterclasses, and work experience programmes. The bursary provided
We are pleased to see the bursary continuing to make a positive difference to the academic lives of our students and their families.
Filling out personal information and looking at university choices before summer was heavily encouraged by teachers which helped us get a brief idea of the full process. The main part of UCAS was the personal statement. Leaving it till last minute was a very bad idea so I cannot stress enough how important it is to get a first draft done by summer!!! However, the guidance given by teachers was amazing by assisting me with my personal statement alongside the constant feedback that was given (big shoutout to Miss Arnold who literally saved me). Overall, the UCAS process may be scary, but the support given by the teachers eased it all and they cannot be thanked enough.
The UCAS process was stressful, but the support given from teachers made it much easier.
Faizaan Abbas (year 13)
UCAS Apprenticeship Virtual Fair
Apprenticeships are becoming a very popular future pathway both in our sixth form and also nationally. A degree apprenticeship enables students to gain a full undergraduate or master’s degree while they work. Degree apprenticeships take three to six years to complete, depending on the course level. Students spend most of their time working and study part-time at university. the UCAS Apprenticeship Fair, students were able to attend talks from career experts and current apprentices across many different businesses and industry. Students also had the opportunity to visit stalls lead by prospective employers of the future. talks that were fair enabled students to be one step ahead in securing an apprenticeship and inspired them further to raise their aspirations and achieve their goals. Here are what some of our students said about the UCAS Apprenticeship Fair. Headteacher)
On Wednesday 9th February 2022 30 year 12 and year 13 students participated in the annual UCAS Apprenticeship Fair 2022. This took place virtually in school and students beamed into the fair using their webcams and headsets.
on offer were: • My journey as a Google apprentice. • Apprenticeship roles within the UK Intelligence Services. • Where can an apprenticeship lead me? • Discover Bloomberg: How to build your personal brand. • Discover the unexpected: Being an Apprentice at Experian. Some key employers that our students engaged with virtually were: • Bellway Homes • British Airways • Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology • Experian • National Grid • NHS • PWC • Rolls-Royce Plc • Sky The
In
Chetan Shingadia (Assistant
Highlights of some
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I learned about different apprenticeships that are located in London and the UK. The key highlight for me were the MI5 and MI6 apprentice talks, as I wanted to know about this opportunity and how to apply for it. The fair helped me know about all the opportunities available, and the jobs that are high in demand.
Ahmed Mumin (year 12)
We learnt about different routes after sixth form and how to research these opportunities. I found it quite helpful as it really got me thinking about whether I want to go to university or into an apprenticeship. Before I went to the fair I wasn’t sure as to what apprenticeships were and whether the they were good as degrees. The fair reassured me. Overall, I found it quite eye opening.
At the UCAS Apprenticeship Fair, I learnt the importance of apprenticeships. My key highlights were the comparisons of apprenticeships and universities across a wide range of different sectors. The fair helped with my career plans as it gave me an insight into how I want to continue after sixth form and what will benefit me more.
23 FORMSIXTH
I learned that there are many different companies that offer apprenticeships, in many diverse fields. It showed us that there are many different opportunities that are available to us. The fair also showed me that apprenticeships are not only restricted to computer science or engineering. Apprenticeships are for a diverse range of people.
Muskaan Sanghera (year 12)
Reiko Mistry (year 12)
Tiana Duggal (year 12)
Pathway to Law at Oxford University
Oliwia Bartnicka
So far, this programme has been extremely helpful in building my student portfolio. It gave me the opportunity to meet many students from across England and build new relationships outside my school. Also, it provided me with the chance to do work experience at Irwin Mitchell Law firm, the largest full-service law firm in the UK. This gave me insight into what the working life of a lawyer looks like and helped me to develop my teamwork and presentation skills. Moreover, this experience has helped me finalise my decision that I would be applying to Oxford as opposed to Cambridge in year 13. With a year left on the programme, I am excited to see what lies in store for me as I continue to grow deeper in my knowledge of the legal field and experience of the legal profession.
Samuel Dickson (year 12 Head Boy 2022-2023) Pathway to Medicine at Nottingham University
Starting year 12 off as an aspiring lawyer, I was eager to try and find as many opportunities as I could to help me draw nearer to my goal of becoming a barrister. I had asked Ms Agarwal if there were any law opportunities available and a few days later she told me about a Sutton Trust programme known as “Pathways to Law.” So I applied for the programme at Oxford University, where I was potentially thinking of applying to. After a long application process, I found out in November that I was accepted and was asked to attend the launch event at the Law Faculty, which was an amazing experience as I got to explore the city of Oxford and listen to a fascinating lecture about Serious Injury law.
Summer Sutton Trust Pathways Programme
I attended a Sutton Trust Summer School at the University of Nottingham between the 10th and 14th of July 2022. During the programme I was in the Medicine and Medical Sciences strand which meant that I attended academic sessions regarding medicine. Throughout the programme I attended multiple lecture-style academic sessions by medical professionals and researchers who talked about getting into medicine, studying medicine at university, and about working in medicine. These were very insightful and provided me with a vast amount of useful information which has helped me know what to expect from a career in the medical field and has taught me about the different pathways available after a medicine degree. The summer school was led by ambassadors who were university students. This gave me an opportunity to ask questions about their thoughts on university, their courses and their preparations for their admissions tests and interviews. The Summer School also involved sessions about networking, finance at university and support systems available for students. In addition to the academic sessions, we also played many games, had a tour of Nottingham and were able to take part in the different societies available at the university which made the programme fun and exciting. Overall, the programme was very interesting and was a fantastic experience as I met new people, developed my interpersonal skills/ networking skills, and learnt a lot regarding my next steps. (year 12)
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FORMSIXTH
25 FORMSIXTH
Oxford is a highly renowned and prestigious university, therefore taking part in the UNIQ Medical Sciences program has been a privilege and an amazing learning experience. Throughout the course, I was able to meet many different students from across the UK and develop soft skills such as teamwork and communication. This amalgamated with the scientific knowledge I gained from experts: Oxford’s professors, students and researchers. I wasn’t able to attend the summer school as it overlapped with my exams, however, they were very understanding and facilitated me with virtual courses to cater to my needs. Being on the program has definitely encouraged me to apply to Oxford.
Swarnali Acharjee (year 12)
Naffay Mahmood (year 12)
Being part of the cohort for this year’s Pathways to Medicine program has given me a realistic view of what it’s like to study Medicine, as well as giving me the drive, motivation and encouragement to apply for Medicine. It started in November, and ends in the following year’s December, so they can support me throughout my A-Levels. I was able to take part in many informative webinars, workshops and conferencesprompting me to do further research and wider reading. There were also in-person events throughout the year, where I was able to meet doctors of different medical fields, and even getting clinical work experience at St Mary’s Hospital! Furthermore, by being in the program, I have received a contextualised offer from Imperial College to study Medicine.
Summer Sutton Trust Pathways Programme
Pathway to Medicine at Oxford University
Pathway to Biochemistry at St Andrews University
This is a short summary of my experience at Saint Andrews which was my Sutton Trust University. I am not going to sugar-coat my honest opinion but the week I spent in Scotland was genuinely the best week of the year. I met tons of new friends, easy to talk to ambassadors, admission officers who gave me insightful information and I experienced great and memorable presentations on how to get into Saint Andrews (which I hope to attend this time next year). We were all given an itinerary of what the next week was going to be looking like and at first glance I questioned it. I was wondering how on earth are nearly 500 students going to complete this many activities in the timespan of 5 days? But the admission officers and ambassadors immediately had us working on our first activity which was a scavenger hunt around the whole University. This had to be one of my favourite activities as I received the chance to talk to new people and receive their initial opinion on the university. These new friends I had made also were known as my “academic family” as we all had an interest in BioChemistry. Our academic family’s prioritised Chemistry and the day after the scavenger hunt, we attended our first Chemistry lecture which was easy to understand and comprehend as the lecturer was a final year lecturer so he seemed to know what he was talking about and the information he was bestowing upon us. After that it was then our second subject lecture (mine was EachBiology).day was different because the Biology lecturers managed to interpret different activities to do, for example the first day we did a practical, then the second day we had someone talk to us about Marine Biology which sparked our interest in Biology more, we then did another practical, and then more lecturers came to talk to us about their course. I want to say I enjoyed the lectures more but the activities we did after them genuinely makes me reminisce about the week more than ever. We did fun activities like comedic movie nights and breezy evenings on the beach (which resulted in all of us walking through the town of Saint Andrews barefoot and covered in salty water). On the last night of our amazing residential trip we attended a “Ceilidh” which I still struggle to pronounce to this day, it means “Scottish Party”. There was a band which played tons of songs which we all performed Scottish dances to like the Gay Gordon’s and Canadian Barn-dance (just to name a few), at the end of it all, we all inevitably had to say our goodbyes and hope to reunite in September 2023. To conclude, I loved this Sutton Trust experience so much and recommend it to anyone who’s having second thoughts on applying.
2. Tara McLaughlin (Ajar Technology) – Volunteer of the Year 3. St Mary’s University - Work Experience Provider of the Year We could not be any prouder of all this success.
• Raise the confidence and careers aspirations of young people
1. Isha Ali – Work Experience Student of the Year
Aspirations Day
On 11th November 2021 we had some amazing news from the Spark! Awards ceremony. All 3 nominations won! It was a great opportunity to celebrate the success of our T Level industry placements:
• Raise awareness of the property and logistics sector
O ver this past year, the careers activities, enthusiasm, and opportunities has been astounding. From the impact of the pandemic on the world of work, excitement for careers, industries and businesses was a little diluted. This year, it is evident that our community has pushed past this barrier and turbo charged the students to think about the world of opportunities. As always, there has been immense focus on preparing our students for their next steps. Whether that be choices for GCSEs, A Levels or choosing their future pathway. All these decisions and milestones allow our students to have the right tool kit to transition into the next phase. With the skills, knowledge, and confidence I know our students develop, it is always inspiring to see them take their next big step.
The programme had three different phases. A 2 hour workshop with managers, directors and colleagues from Segro. An industry insight day for 10 students. Lastly, weekly career mentoring for 6 weeks for 4 fortunate students.•Karamveer
The students benefitted highly from all the different phases and were really able to get a good feel of the business and the employees. The insight day was fascinating, students visited a warehouse in Hayes and then to Heathrow Cargo Centre to see how Segro supported the airline industry. Rachel Mcadam from Spark facilitated the programme and said that the students were ‘… a brilliant bunch of young people!’
On the Thursday 25th November 2021, the school held its first Aspirations Day. This day was dedicated to students’ engagement with businesses, charities and further education providers. We had over 40 organisations attend the day in our Sports Hall. Students were encouraged to mingle, engage and ask lots of questions so that they made the most of the opportunity. I know this will be the first of many future Aspirations Day The event was attended by a large number of companies across different sectors including Higher Education providers, Business, Public Sector, Healthcare, Science, Construction, Charity, Colleges, Engineering, Digital, Travel, Hospitality, Cranford Alumni Network and much more.
• Increase the employability and work readiness of young people
Tamna • Simleen Shdana • Guneet Dhameja • Maria Naz
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CAREERS
Segro Employability Workshop Spark! is a local education partnership who support schools with their careers provision. We were lucky to be offered 30 places for an employability programme with Segro. Segro is a real estate investment trust, which owns, manages, and develops modern warehouses and light industrial properties. The programme aimed to:
• Develop diverse talent pipelines for Segro.
List of Attendees Business : Allianz - Ipsos MORI - Eco world. Higher Education : Richmond upon Thames College - Royal Holloway University - UCFB (University Campus of Football Business) - University of Surrey - University of Creative Arts - UWL (University of West London) - Uxbridge college - West Thames College - St Mary’s - Brunel University - Coventry University - University of Law - Kingston University. Healthcare : GSK - Pharmacy. IT/ Engineering : Infosys - Atos - QinetiqJacobs. Construction : Mace Group. Public Service : Met Police - British Army. Charity : FareShare. Science : NPL (National Physical Laboratory). Transport : TfL (Transport for London). Hospitality : Hilton Heathrow
“Theapply”people
“Theapprentices”universities
Students are so fortunate to receive a rich and wide curriculum that supports and celebrates the careers, employability and enterprise curriculum but commemorating these events is a crucial reminder of how vital these national events are. As well as partaking in assemblies with vital information, students had the opportunity to take part in tutor time activities. These events and activities helped students to gain new knowledge and consolidate all the information they have. Ladva (Head of Careers)
“I
“Icompanies”gottoask
National Apprenticeships Week 7th to 13th February and National Careers Week 2nd to 7th March 2022
Mahavir
“Hearing about their company was useful, now I know how to in the company gave an insightful review of their company structure” am thinking of doing an apprenticeship and got to talk to were keen for us to join them”
Aadil Awan, Lucy Tirahan & Zala Amiri Cranford
Alumni 27 CAREERS
What our students said about the event: “It was good to see different questions”
The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is an A-level standard standalone qualification designed to extend and develop students’ abilities beyond the A-level syllabus and prepare for university or their future career. It can be taken as an extension of other Level 3 qualifications or vocational qualifications. It is worth half an A-level and is recognised by universities and employers. The EPQ allows students to lead their own projects. Students get to plan and carry out research on a topic that they’ve chosen and they can take inspiration from something touched on in class or something personal and unrelated to their studies. They then use this research to produce a written report and, in the case of practical projects, an artefact or a production. Here is just a sample of the EPQ projects undertaken this year.
Fran Green (Assistant Headteacher -EPQ)
EPQ / Extended Project Qualification 2021-2022 28 FORMSIXTH
Thank you to Ms Jenkins and Ms Ledlie for helping me collect all the ballots.
we are very proud of her and that her hard work and diligence has paid off.
Hounslow Youth Parliament Election 2022VoteMarjaanfor... 29 FORMSIXTH
Marjaan is going to be an excellent ambassador for Cranford and Hounslow, and I am sure all that know her will be equally delighted and in no doubt that she will be both very successful and effective in her role.
The campaigning process was three weeks and surprisingly a lot of admin work. I spoke to Heads of Years to coordinate and present assemblies to each year group. During the voting week, my campaign team and I collected one thousand five hundred ballots over the course of four days. Form time was very hectic that fateful week.
“I am delighted to let you know that Marjaan Aman was elected as the member of Youth Parliament for AsHounslow.aschool
I am responsible for leading Hounslow Youth Council, my three manifesto points and contributing to two national projects. This position has increased my awareness of our community and the steps young people are taking to make improvements.
Marjaan Aman (Deputy Head Girl - Environment Committee)
I am incredibly grateful to Isra, Manav, Oliwia, Sanjana, Shenon, and Tanishka whom I very lovingly named “My MYP Minions”.
Mr Fraser was a great support in my election journey. He provided great guidance and crucially gave me the motivation and confidence to follow through with my goal.
On behalf of Marjaan please pass on her thanks to all the students who voted for her and as a school we should all celebrate in her success. We will continue to support Marjaan in this important role. I know that the London Borough of Hounslow wants to engage more with young people and Marjaan will be key to that success”.
Kevin (ExecutivePruntyHeadteacher & National Leader of Education)
I enjoy settling disputes and believe this would only be enhanced in a legal career, which is why I would like to become a lawyer. Work experience placements at firms like DLA Piper have solidified my goals and I cannot wait to become part of the legal profession.
Leading such projects has increased my motivation to contribute to social change through the legal domain.
I initially applied to be a member of Hounslow Youth Parliament because I wanted to improve my confidence in preparation for university. Prior to this experience, I was nervous about public speaking. However, after a few training sessions and campaigning, speaking in front of an audience no longer paralysed me with fear.
Now that I have been elected to this position, I have gained amazing networking opportunities, developed my managerial skills and attended events like the Vote at 16 Panel Discussions with Members of Parliament at Westminster.
During the campaign Marjaan has demonstrated her intelligence, confidence, determination, resilience and integrity. Indeed she is a wonderful role model for the other Members of Parliament.
Study Centres 6 & 7 Opened 30
In September 2021, two additional study centres opened ‘SC 6 and SC 7’. These spaces had been entirely refurbished in the Summer holiday to provide an additional 155 study spaces. This is in addition to the existing Study Centres so that in total, we now have 382 individual study spaces in Cranford. At Cranford we want to ensure all students can make the most of our facilities and help them maximise their education. Outside of lesson time, 6th form students can use our study centres as a quiet place to work. Each study centre is equipped with a minimum of 40 computers, laptops and books. Having a space dedicated to quiet independent study encourages students to push themselves and their peers.
Each study centre has a staff member present to uphold and maintain the work ethos and high standard expected of all. Year 10 and 11 students are able to access the study centre one lesson per week, to help them develop independent study skills. The study centres create a culture of hard work and focus with resources readily available to assist students in reaching their academic potential.
CENTRESSTUDY-LEARNINGINDEPENDENT
Manjula Giga (Study Centres Manager)
Having worked in multiple schools as a supply teacher, I have a fair sample to use for comparison when it comes to the quality of each 6th form. At Cranford, I could instantly see the framework and ethos of the school, which is displayed through students and staff alike. There is a trusting and mature relationship between everyone in the school, with a focus on making the students feel welcome and comfortable to ensure they make the most of their education. Working in the study centres reinforced my initial thoughts, as I was able to see students taking responsibility for their own aspirations. 6th formers, rather than having free periods, are sent to study centres where there are ample resources to aid them in their studies. Leaving students to their own devices can be a risk, but I believe the trust shown by the school is what motivates them.
Cranford’s study centres are an excellent learning environment which provide students all they need to have a successful education. For example, access to computers, textbooks, and laptops across study centres, ensures that students always have opportunities to further themselves in their academic studies and are always catered for regardless of their subject choice or level of education. Moreover, in Sixth Form having 8-10 hours of time in a study centre a week is extremely helpful as it allows students to undertake much of their studies in school. Many students do not have a quiet working space at home, so the abundance of study centre periods in Sixth Form gives students the quiet time needed to finish course work and revise.
31 CENTRESSTUDY-LEARNINGINDEPENDENT
Study centres at Cranford include computers, laptops, desks and larger round tables allowing students to choose what suits them best depending upon the work that they need to undertake. Study centres give students the opportunity to work independently and utilise their time efficiently. They are kept tidy, ensuring that the students can focus in a clean environment and they have comfortable chairs so students can sit and finish their work. Study centres are also quiet areas, this guarantees that students will be able to focus and work to the best of their ability in a peaceful area. Study Centre 7, the biggest study centre, has been newly built and allows for group work with large round tables. Study centres have been a blessing in disguise, they provide me with the facilities that I need to complete tasks effectively, without wasting vital revision time after school. As a student myself, I enjoy sitting at a desk by myself, since I work best independently, and study centres allow me to do so. When having my laptop and headphones, I can sit quietly and get through all my work at my own pace. Since the study centre periods are fixed and timetabled, this allows me to schedule tasks for that day.
Study Centre 7 has been a fantastic addition to the facilities at Cranford: the round tables make it ideal for both student and teacher meetings, where teamwork and group discussion is needed. As a ‘Sixth Form only’ study centre, it is also extremely useful as it means that year 12 and year 13 students can work in breaks and study centre periods without the interruption of the younger year groups. Overall, the study centres have been very effective in allowing Cranford to maintain its status as an outstanding learning environment.
Samuel Dickson (Head Boy 2022-2023)
You spend a lot of time with the 6th formers when working in a study centre, and it has been a real pleasure getting to know all the students and seeing their drive and determination to succeed. One of the 6 Cranford identities is to be innovative, and the study centres are a clear display of that. I have yet to see a school that wants to constantly improve and optimise the learning environment for students as much as Cranford.
Sanjana Bhola (year 12)
Ilias (StudyKubicaCentre Assistant)
of Year 8)
C ongratulations to Saido Mohamed C6L who won second place in a national Korean speaking competition organised by the Korean Education Centre WellUK. done indeed to all of Korean Club members in strengthening our school’s link with our sister school, Ocheon High School in Pohang, South Korea. We received lovely gifts from the school in Korea such as letters, Korean ramen, stationery and sweets and, in turn, our Korean Club members sent over a very British care package including tea and stationary to our Korean friends. Our students honed their Korean writing skills, sending heartfelt letters to our friends in Ocheon. We look forward to recommencing the sixth form trip to Ocheon High School. Our key stage 3 and key stage 4 Korean club is currently getting stuck into K-Drama in addition to Korean language tuition. We are currently organising a pen-pal exchange programme with a middle-school in Daegu, South Korea with the help of the Korean Language Education Centre WeUK.are deeply indebted to the fantastic Sunny Chung who comes to Cranford every Wednesday to teach Korean to key stage 3 as part of the school’s Mind Body Soul programme and Sunny also then teaches the afterschool Korean club and has shown tremendous dedication to spreading interest in the Korean language and culture in the UK. If you are interested in joining our Korean Club where we learn a little language and culture, play fun Korean games and watch Korean dramas, please come along to our club – we cater for all year groups. For more information about the club please contact Mr Lennon –jle-cc@cranford.hounslow.sch.uk
Bienvenido! Willkommen!
32 LANGUAGESWORLDMODERN
In the Modern World Languages Department we build on the varied linguistic skills students have learned at key stage 2 and use the insight they have gained in their language lessons to cement a love and passion for language learning. We aim to make the communication meaningful and relevant to the students, thus igniting a desire to communicate in another language. We use a communicative approach where students learn and practise the new language through interaction with their peers and the teacher. Building on this solid foundation, our key stage 4 curriculum enables students to further explore the depths of the language they study. This provides students with a valuable opportunity to critically explore the world around them and to become inquisitive and open-minded citizens of the world.
At Key stage 5 we kindle the students’ curiosity and encourage in depth discussions about political, historical, literary, artistic and cultural topics in the target language. We prepare our students for their personal and academic journey as well as a wide variety of career opportunities, such as Languages combined with a Science, Economics, Business, International Law or Engineering. In the past year our students have embraced the opportunities given to them, such as taking part in the Foreign Language Spelling Bee, which resulted in two year 7 students participating in the national final at Cambridge University. All of our year 7 students participated in the class competition. In Key stage 3 students also immersed themselves in cooking and baking traditional Spanish and German dishes to deepen their understanding of the cultures and produced fantastic booklets about themselves all in target language!
Gute Arbeit! Buen trabajo! Ally Manole (Head of German Department)
John Lennon (Head Korean Club
Welcome to the MWL Department
The MWL department was proud to host a range of activities in celebration of Languages Week in September 2021. The students took part in a language’s scavenger hunt, which saw them searching around school for pictures of their teachers holding their favourite foreign language word written on a Thosewhiteboard.withthegreatest number of teachers and words were the winners!
Having learned how to describe themselves, their family and their hobbies, our year 7 students spent a half term creating a booklet about themselves in Spanish and German. They had to collate everything they have learned this year and talk about themselves, their family, pets, hobbies, favourite artists etc., all in the target language. They produced work that was not only linguistically accurate and complex, but also very creative and colourful.
Congratulations to Jessica and Ashpreet in year 10, and Nica in year 8. During the week, each day the department hosted a Lingo Bingo, where students had a board made up of lots of different words in a foreign language. Students were learning words in Punjabi, Polish, Romanian, Somali, Albanian, Turkish, Swedish, Nepali, Dutch and many more Welanguages!alsoworked with the catering staff to create a tri-lingual menu for the canteen, teaching students the different names for their food each day. Ally (HeadManoleofGerman)
Year 7 “All About Me” Booklet
Modern World Languages Week 2021 33 LANGUAGESWORLDMODERN
How about you try one of the
patatas • 1 cebolla • Sal • Aceite de oliva virgen extra
Foreign Language Spelling Bee 34 LANGUAGESWORLDMODERN
This year, all of our year 7 students took part in the Foreign Language Spelling Bee national competition for Spanish and German. Three of our students qualified as school champions to compete in the Regional Final in March 2022 as part of the last 45 out of the 2428 students who started the competition in London. In true Cranford spirit, the three qualifying students were not only exceptionally supportive of each other before, during and after the competition, but also of other participants. They had to translate each word from English into German/Spanish, before spelling it correctly in the respective language within one minute! done Aisha, Sukhman and Melanie!
Spanish Omelette recipe • 5 huevos • 500 g
to
first. cocinarparaListo !
la tortilla. Over
Backbleche = Baking trays lined with baking paper lasst dabei ausreichend Abstand dazwischen = leave sufficient space between the balls eingedrückt = press in erst mal = initially bei 160°C Ober- und Unterhitze = at 160 degrees Celsius conventional oven setting (not fan oven setting) Sie müssen noch hell sein = they still must be light coloured and not brown. de
werden zu einem geschmeidigen Teig geknetet. Aus dem Teig werden ca. 50 Kügelchen geformt und auf zwei mit Backpapier ausgelegte Backbleche verteilt. Lasst dabei ausreichend Abstand dazwischen. Mit einer Gabel werden oben Muster eingedrückt und die Plätzchen kommen erst mal für 15 Minuten zum aushärten in den Kühlschrank. Danach werden die Bleche nach und nach bei 160°C Ober- und Unterhitze für ca. 10-12 Minuten lang gebacken. Sie müssen noch hell sein und keinerlei Bräune annehmen. Ansonsten werden sie nicht weich und zart. Nach dem die Plätzchen abgekühlt sind werden sie mit Puderzucker bestreut. Sie halten sich luftdicht verpackt ca. 2 Wochen frisch. Wörterbuch Speisestärke = cornflour 2 Pck Vanillezucker = two teaspoon vanilla extract geschmeidig = smooth geknetet = kneaded ca. = mitKügelchenapproximately=smallballsBackpapierausgelegte
backeBacke Kuchen ! German Biscuit recipe • Zutaten für 50 Plätzchen • 250 g weiche Butter oder Margarine • 250 g Speisestärke • 100 g Mehl • 100 g Puderzucker • 2 Pck. Zubereitung:VanillezuckerAlleZutaten
Primer paso: cortar y freír las patatas y la cebolla. Segundo paso: mezclar con los huevos. paso: cuajar Christmas, our German year 7 and year 8 students got busy baking typical German biscuits and Spanish They had to follow a recipe in Spanish and German – the results looked amazing, and our students and their families got to enjoy German baking delicacies and traditional Spanish tapas. recipes? Much like our students, you will have recipes
omelettes.
Tercer
to translate the
Well
I was so exhilarated to have this opportunity to visit Cambridge University for a Spelling Bee for German; I would have never imagined that I would come second in the whole of London and be able to compete in the semi-finals, representing Cranford Community College. The astonishing support from my teachers, family members and friends, I felt jubilant and reassured my entire journey.
Sukhman Singh Anand (year 7) To top off that fantastic achievement, Sukhman and Melanie then went on to qualify for the National Final taking place at Cambridge University on Monday, 27th June 2022. They were part of the last 107 out of 20,000 participants nationwide and have made Cranford proud. Well done both of you!
C ranford Community College has been successful in becoming reaccredited with the International School Award in the summer of 2022. The International School Award (ISA) recognises the school’s commitment to embedding and developing international awareness within the school community. This is something that Cranford Community College takes great pride in, particularly following on from our language college legacy. Part of being an ISA school requires working in collaboration with international partners in relation to the curriculum as well as working with the wider community. We are pleased to share that in 2021-2022, we were able to return to our international activities and partnerships through a variety of ways: the Korean Culture-box Exchange, Erasmus+ Soft Skills project activity visit to Italy with our Erasmus+ partners and the Languages Week scavenger hunt organised by the Modern World Languages Department – these are just 3 of the many activities the school community has led and engaged with. We look forward to continuing to develop our work with our current international partners and forging new partnerships internationally and locally, supporting our school and wider community.
Reaccreditation Success 35 LANGUAGESWORLDMODERN
Sahrish Shaikh (Senior Teacher) 2022
International School Award
Ally Manole (Head of German Department)
MyHellotime in Cranford with the amazing teachers has been great and so has the languages subject German. It has been a pleasure to learn this subject and it has taken me to a higher level. I started off thinking that this was difficult but with the help of my teacher Ms Manole I finally understand everything. When it was time to do the Class Spelling Bee competition, I was so worried, I thought that I could never get to a higher level but then I was shocked when I found out I won. Next, I did the School Spelling Bee and then the Regional Spelling Bee competition and I won again. I came 3rd from the whole of London so I got a bronze medal! At the end of this I had to compete in the National Spelling Bee competition at Cambridge University. I didn’t win, and I couldn’t go further into the Grand Finals. I wasn’t upset at all because I had a chance to visit a big University and at least I got to this high level where I could learn German and now, I can speak parts of German fluently. I thank all the teachers especially, Ms Manole for all the support in the MWL German. It has been a wonderful journey! Danke!
Overall, it was a thrilling and remarkable time that I had meeting people, competing and being able to congratulate others. I felt like a winner being able to make it so far in this competition.
Melanie Khanal (year 7)
INTERNATIONALISM
The visit saw us attend the annual teacher celebration day. This was a celebration for the whole school led by the students whereby they showed their appreciation to their teachers. This included poems, songs, processions and giving gifts. It was a very special and unique occasion. Following this the leaders of both schools met to re-negotiate the partnership arrangement and sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations. We are delighted that shortly afterwards, our first delegation of teachers made their pilot trip and more details are provided on these pages.
Thailand Partner School Visit Renew and Deepen Relationships
In June 2022, Kevin Prunty (Executive Headteacher) and I were able to visit our partner school in Thailand, Princess Chulabhorn Science High School (PCSHS) in Pathumthani. This was the first visit to take place since the pandemic when our teacher exchange programme had to be put on hold.
36
“We are always very happy and it is always a privilege to visit Princess Chulabhorn Science High School. It is so much more important this year as it is a signal of things turning back to normality. Although there were many disappointments because of COVID I think the one thing that it did achieve was to point out to young people and to the world how important science is. We are very keen to renew and deepen that relationship through the projects that we have planned for the future”. We are looking forward to renewing links with our partner schools in other countries such as South Korea, France, Germany, The USA, The Netherlands, Norway, Italy, Portugal, as well as making new links. These international opportunities are a key part of the mission Cranford provides for our students in preparing them to be global citizens.
Peter Stumpf (Associate Headteacher)
Here is an extract from Kevin Prunty’s speech at the ceremony…
37 INTERNATIONALISM
P rincess Chulaborn Science High School (PCSHS), a boarding school in the province of Pathum Thani - Thailand, was the two-week home and workplace for three staff members from Cranford Community College from 4th – 15th July 2022. This was the continuation of the teacher exchange programme post pandemic between PCSHS and our school and it was, without a doubt, a fantastic success. The two-week exchange programme involved teachers from three subject areas: Science, English and ICT & Computing, with a very clear focus on teaching and learning. The academic aspects of the programme consisted of co-teaching and planning lessons, understanding the curriculum and assessment processes as well as STEM project successes at PCSHS (national and international) with academic visits to a wide variety of institutions. To see how PCSHS taught and delivered its STEM projects was very important to this programme as it naturally linked with Science and ICT but also specifically with English language teaching. The STEM projects are presented in English and allow the students to work directly with their partners at Thammasat University, selecting their own topics of interest. One of the things that really stood out to us was the use of small scale ‘green’ science within the Science lessons which encouraged an all-inclusive and equality for all in access to science knowledge. As a Science school, PCSHS was keen to share its newly built ‘Solar System’ room and the practical application of programming skills through use of KidBright micro-computer devices. Students within the English Language classrooms were keen to show off their command of the language, particularly when it came to conversational English and pop culture. Whilst the programme had an academic and teaching and learning based foci, it was equally (and very importantly) also focused on culture. We were able to engage with Thai culture from day 1 of our arrival, as seen in the welcome ceremony and assembly, involving the singing of the national anthem at the start of the day. Food is a very big part of Thai culture and is something that we thoroughly enjoyed learning about…and eating! Thai people like their food spicy, healthy and in small yet large quantities – it really is Thailand
Staff Exchange Programme July 2022 38 INTERNATIONALISM
Chetan Shingadia (Assistant Headteacher), Sahrish Shaikh (Senior Teacher) & Homayon Zeary (Technical Infrastructure, Planning & Strategic Developments Manager)
39 INTERNATIONALISM
a whole event that goes on for a few hours. Thai cooking classes as well as the sheer variety of meals consumed made for a fantastic experience, most particularly learning to make at least 3 different varieties of Som Tum Salad and experiencing Mu ka tha – the Thai equivalent to a BBQ. Other culturally relevant activities that we were able to participate in and learn from were traditional Thai dance, Thai tie-dying and the drawing of national and historical Thai symbols. With cultural experiences came Thai history – both are intrinsically linked. Two of the key experiences that stand out is the visit to Ayyutaya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as the visit to the Royal Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok. It was an opportunity to learn about how Bangkok came to be the capital city that we know today as well as understand the impact of Buddhism on the country’s identity on a deeper level. The latter was seen more closely when PCSHS hosted an annual ceremony for 9 visiting monks from the local temple and monastery, marking the beginning of the harvest season. Of course, as this was an exchange programme, these visits and experiences were an opportunity for us to share with our hosts the contrast within the UK where we have multiple cultures and ethnicities who contribute towards a very diverse and developing society.
With all the activities and experiences that we had the pleasure of being a part of, one of the core things that rooted itself within us was the extremely positive and family-like relationships that exist within the school. In essence, it felt like we were at CCC, being in a family and community that cares for each other. This shared ethos is a clear indicator of why this partnership and exchange between the two schools will go from strength to strength. All in all, the teacher exchange to Thailand was not only a remarkable and fantastic experience for all involved, but it has established itself as the starting point for a growing partnership and friendship between the teachers and students as well as the schools themselves. We now look forward to hosting PCSHS when they come to visit us in the Spring of 2023.
Sahrish Shaikh (Head of History Department)
Department2021-2022
Each of these students was awarded a copy of ‘The Dark Lady’ which is Akala’s first venture into writing for young adults, taking inspiration from African Kingdoms as well as Shakespeare’s sonnets. Here is also a review for you of this book, written by one of our winners. It is a fantastic read - definitely one on the History Department book recommendation list.
Sahrish Shaikh (Head of History Department)
E very year the History department at Cranford Community College likes to run a whole school learning opportunity and competition for all students. This year was no different. Students were asked to focus on what Akala (activist, rapper and author) had to say about his own experiences as a black individual in his semi-autobiographical text ‘Natives: Race and Class in the ruins of Empire’. They were then given two options: a) research a key black historical figure as mentioned by Akala and create an informative post or b) select a key black historical figure and write a rap or poem from that person’s perspective. We were fortunate enough to have a number of entries from across the school but there were three particular entries that stood out for us. Here they are for you!
2021-2022 has been a very exciting academic year for the History Department. With the world experiencing a number of ‘turning point’ events, we have made it our mission to ensure that students have had a platform to discuss their independent ideas. Students of all key stages have been able to engage with a wide variety of opportunities, maximizing on their cultural capital but also supporting their academic progress and critical evaluation of the world they live in. In October, students had the opportunity to engage with a whole school competition for Black History Month, with the winning prize being Akala’s new release ‘Dark Lady’, a young adult novel inspired by African tribal history and Shakespeare’s sonnets. As a department, we also ensured that our Post 16 students had weekly debates on Microsoft Teams, with each student responding to the topic and question of the week. These topics ranged from discussions to do with exams going ahead in the Summer of 2022, to more historically related topics such as what political system of governance is better or an alternative to Democracy. These resulted in some fiery discussions! For year 8 students, the department was able to engage with the Holocaust Educational Trust and arrange for a Zoom call and talk with John Fieldsend, MBE, a survivor of the Holocaust. This was not only thought provoking, but it was also a perfect example of how history is very much alive. His message of hope, strength, and kindness towards each other could not come at a better time than this. Whilst the History Department seeks to run activities that will enable our students to become well-rounded members of our society, we have also ensured that our students have had plenty of academic opportunities too. Year 9 students have had the chance to visit the National Army Museum and work with specialists on the British Sector of the Western Front 1914-1918, handling primary source materials and gaining experience that they can use when it come to their GCSE Paper 1 content. Year 12 students have had the exciting opportunity to visit Pevensey Bay and Castle, the site where William the Conqueror first landed when he arrived in Britain in 1066 as part of the Norman invasion. The opportunities that we provide our students also focus on student aspirations. In July, some of our year 12 students visited City University’s UCAS day in conjunction with the Historical Association. Here students were able to speak to current university students studying History, get specific advice regarding their UCAS applications as well as attend some lectures lead by university professors. We are extremely proud of the work that the department has done and how fantastically our students have engaged and developed this academic year.
40 HISTORY
Black History Month is an annual observance originating from the USA where it is also known as African American History Month. BHM has received official recognition from governments from the USA and Canada, and more recently has been observed in Ireland and the UK. It began as way of remembering Important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It is celebrated in February in the USA and Canada while in Ireland and the UK it is observed in October. These are some significant people from Black History Month.
Barez Popal (year 8)Rosa Parks
41 HISTORY
We had an excellent tour round the museum which was full of interesting and interactive exhibits. The Museum told the history of various armies and soldiers both from the past and present. We even had the privilege of reading about a British soldier whose face was dismantled by a bullet wound but was able to recover and works in the Museum today!
On Wednesday 29th June 2022 the History Department organised an educational trip for thirty Year 9 students who had the opportunity to visit the National Army Museum. Students were able to see first-hand what British soldiers experienced on the home front.
“The trip to the National Army Museum gave us an extraordinary chance to experience life in the War and a great deal of battles in other countries for the first time. We also viewed the “Road to Recovery” section of the museum which gave us an interesting outlook on soldiers’ lives after and during injuries they gained in WW1/2 and taught us the struggles of being able to live with the injuries for the rest of their lives”.
Kajol Kaur (Key Stage 3 Humanities Curriculum and Assessment Co-ordinator)
“The National Army Museum trip was an amazing experience. We got to look at weapons used in the World Wars and also looked at the treatments used for injuries and diseases in the war. Additionally, we also saw uniform worn by the British Army in different parts of the world depending on the climate and atmosphere. Overall, it was a really good experience and we got to learn lots about the British Army and how they have served all over the world”.
Ruqayyah Vora (year 9) Year 9
National Army Museum Visit
P evensey Castle was an amazing educational experience, from learning about how the castle was used during the World War to how it linked to our Detailed course that consisted of how the castle changed after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Furthermore, it also enlightened me about it was a prison for a range of prisoners, from Queens suspected of being a witch to low level peasants who were kept at the bottom of staircases. Overall, I really enjoyed the trip and would recommend it to everyone, a special thanks to Ms Kaur who organised it. #it’snicetobenice Zayed Fadhluddin (year 12)
The trip was great for a first-hand historical experience about our course on the Anglo Saxons. Our first visit to the castle had a lot of information Year 12
Divya Sareen (year 9)
Pevensey Castle and Eastbourne beach
42 HISTORY
After a well-deserved lunch we took part in a very interactive trench medicine workshop which allowed students to engage with real-life materials such as trench boots, stretchers, and soldier’s uniform. Students were even able to try on Indian soldiers’ uniform! After analysing these primary sources in a real hands-on approach, each group presented their findings to each other. We had an amazing time at the museum which made us feel as though we were back in the 1900s.
43 HISTORY
Pevensey Castle is a medieval castle that has been home to Romans, Normans and was even used during World War Two. We started our journey exploring the stone castle which is well-known as a place where William the Conqueror landed near to defeat Harold Godwinson and become the first Norman king of TheEngland.Year 12 pupils were excited to see in person this historic location, especially the stairs to the dungeon … luckily no one was imprisoned by the keyholder of Pevensey Castle! It was very interesting to see what life would have been like for those who broke the law in the medieval ages.
We then took a short drive to Eastbourne beach to explore the local area which was also home to much history especially the war. In January 1939, Eastbourne was classed as a “safe zone” so many children, teachers and mothers were evacuated to Eastbourne. Overall, it was a brilliant trip that reminds us of the rich History this country holds.
As a geography student, visiting Eastbourne afterwards was my favourite part of the trip, and luckily the weather was nice enough for us to have a nice afternoon along the coast.
N ineteen Year 12 students made the trip with Miss Kaur, Mrs Jenkins and Mr Lever to the Sussex coast on Tuesday 12th July 2022 to take in a number of sites of the historical interest to A-level historians who are studying ‘Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest’ in year 12.
The trip was very educational as we got to explore some of the places that are related to our Anglo – Saxon course. We also got to learn about some different historical events such as the WW2, and it was very exciting to see the Gun emplacement which was rebuilt during the 1930s. Moreover, the trip to the beach was a good historical insight as looking at the sea reminded us of how the Vikings would have sailed to England through the sea.
I enjoyed my time visiting Pevensey Castleit was nice to get a brief insight into what the History students learn about on their course. It gave me a chance to learn about the background of the castle and the events that took place there.
The castle also had an extraordinary exhibition on the World War Two which displayed how there were over 1,300 explosive bombs and 14,000 incendiary bombs that fell in the local area. Many soldiers also trained and lived on the castle grounds before heading to the Home Front.
Shamalia Baig (year 12)
Kajol Kaur (Key Stage 3 Humanities Curriculum and Assessment Co-ordinator) not covered on the course and allowed us to see much of what had been left over by the Normans. The castle gave good insight about the Anglo Saxons and Normans – the weapons used and how the castle was constructed to ensure that they were safe. Additionally, the beach was a good reminder of how and where the Normans landed during their invasion, and how normal places we visit have history behind them.
Shehrose Haddad (year 12)
Umamah Shaikh (year 12)
The H istory Department had the fantastic opportunity to engage in a talk with John Fieldsend (MBE), a survivor of the Holocaust who escaped to Britain via the use of Kindertransport (child transport) in 1939. Whilst this was conducted via a Zoom call during a Mind, Body and Soul activity for our year 8 History students, suffice to say, this talk lead by the Holocaust Educational Trust and John Fieldsend really did touch our minds and souls. The talk was very personal and emotional and allowed our students to engage with Oral History as well as reality, recognising that History is made up of survivors who lived to tell the tale. John Fieldsend began by addressing the society that we live in today and the struggles that we see and experience, particularly as young individuals. He moved swiftly onto his own experiences of bullying, hate crime and discrimination. One particular example he gave us was of when he injured himself whilst playing with his father and he needed stitches as he had hurt his head. But, when his father took him to get medical attention, the doctor refused because John was Jewish. His personal stories continued to capture us all as he carried on, most specifically when he read out the last letter he received from his parents before they were taken to a concentration camp and killed. It was clear to see that over 75 years on, that letter still had a powerful impact on him; it most certainly stunned the students and staff who were a part of this talk. The year 8 students were given the opportunity to ask John questions, showing off their knowledge of the Holocaust but also their historical investigative skills. Ultimately, John Fieldsend’s heartfelt message and harrowing stories evoked a sense of realisation within us all: we need to make sure that we remain kind to each other in a world such as the one we live in today and we must continue to look after each other without hesitation. The History Department would like to take this opportunity to celebrate the maturity of our students but also thank the HET and John Fieldsend as well as the Cranford staff who supported in making this event happen.
Trust:EducationalHolocaustTalkfromsurvivora
44 HISTORY
Sahrish Shaikh (Head of History Department)
45 HISTORY
On Wednesday 13th July 2022, 5 year 12 A Level History students made their way to the far side of London to attend a UCAS and Historical Association led day at City University, London. This fantastic opportunity came about through the History Department’s links with the Historical Association and meant that students who aspire to study History at university had the opportunity to speak to UCAS guides, current students of History at the university as well as get a flavour of what lectures at university are like by attending some of them. This type of exposure is a big part of the History Department’s intent and philosophy - to inspire students and support their aspirations in more ways than one. Have a read through some of or student testimonies of their big day out.
J ohn Fieldsend was born on 11 September 1931 in Czechoslovakia to a Czech mother and a German father. He had an older brother and they lived in a town called Dresden in Germany. One of John’s earliest memories is that of a visit from Hitler to the town of Dresden in 1935/6. Whilst John and his family did not go and watch the procession, Hitler could be heard shouting “Die Juden, die Juden…..those terrible Jews.” At the age of five, John’s life began to change. He could no longer play with friends he had always played with because he was Jewish. One day when he was playing with his father, he cut his head and the doctor refused to treat him due to being Jewish. One night, John’s mother and father decided to leave Dresden due to the treatment of the Jews. They drove to John’s grandparents’ house in Czechoslovakia. They had a secure life here until Hitler invaded. Again, Jewish life became very hard and the Jews were treated terribly. One day, John’s mother and father told him and his brother that they would be going on a long journey to England on their own. John and his brother were put on a Kindertransport train and arrived in England at the end of June 1939. On arrival in England, John and his brother were separated and lived with different foster families. Soon after the war in 1946, John received a farewell letter from his parents that had been written just before their internment and some photo albums that had been passed on by the Red Cross. John had not heard from his parents since 1942. Sadly, his parents both died after being sent to Poland. John’s foster home was a happy home, and he remained living there until he got married in 1961. John carried out research into his family history and discovered the name of the man who had put him and his brother on a Kindertransport train. His name was Sir Nicholas Winton, and he was responsible for saving the lives of over 600 children during the Holocaust.
John married Elizabeth and they had three children and seven grandchildren. He lives in Oxford and regularly shares his testimony in schools and colleges on behalf of the Holocaust Educational Trust.
Year 12 Independent trip
Historical Association & City University
FieldsendJohn
John Fieldsend BEM
Sahrish Shaikh (Head of History Department)
Students were fully engaged in geography this year, learning about the continent of Africa and Asia in year 8, Europe and Glaciation in year 7 along with climate change and pollution. It was the first year since 2019, for public exams to take place and we wish year 11 luck for their future aspirations and career paths.
You can read this book from the library or purchase it from any book retailer store.
Here is a short extract from The Guardian “View on Geography: it’s the must-have A-Level”
“It is inherently multidisciplinary in a world that increasingly values people who have the skills needed to work across the physical and social sciences. Geographers get to learn data analysis, and to read Robert Macfarlane. They learn geographic information systems. They can turn maps from a twodimensional representation of a country’s physical contours into a tool that illustrates social attributes or attitudes: not just where people live, but how, what they think and how they vote. They learn about the physics of climate change, or the interaction of weather events and flood risk, or the way people’s behaviour is influenced by the space around them.
More, now than ever, geography is becoming an increasingly important subject to study, with geopolitical events happening with Russia and Ukraine, Palestine and Israel, climate change disasters and degradation of the natural environment from increased human activities. There is a lot to learn about how we can create a sustainable and greener world for our future generations.
With Covid restrictions relaxed the Geography Department was able to teach the full national curriculum to its best, incorporating fieldwork, fieldwork and even more fieldwork! Students investigated the school site in year 7 examining environmental quality and conducting field sketches, whilst year 9s and year 10s went to South Kensington and Knightsbridge for their urban fieldwork looking at the quality of life. Year 10s also enjoyed a day to the River Wye, where they investigated flood risk and river Alldischarge.ofthese trips and fieldwork could not have been possible without the help and support of Caitlin Arnold who joined in September 2021. Caitlin has been an integral part of the Geography Department, supporting students with revision, holding extra classes, and writing our new Europe Scheme of Work.
The Geography Department 2021-2022 46 GEOGRAPHY
All these are not just intrinsically interesting and valuable. They also encourage ways of seeing and thinking that make geographers eminently employable, which is why, according to the latest information from the Higher Education Careers Services Unit, only 5.8% of geography graduates were still job-hunting six months after they graduated, against an average of 7.3%”.
Aaron Lever (Head of Geography Department)
‘I really enjoyed looking at the architecture and environment in Central London’ Krish Kumar (year 10)
‘The fieldtrip was amazing because we were able to explore new places we’d never visited before’ Anshika Kaur (year 9) Our conclusions... South Kensington beats Hounslow in income, employment, education and health categories, but Hounslow’s access to housing, living environment, green spaces and lower crime rate make it a tight competition.
Geographers Back in the Field
Year 7 kicked off the field work in a new topic investigating Cranford Community College’s human and physical geography. Students tried out several data collection methods throughout the Spring term to build a picture of our school environment including field sketches, environmental quality surveys and quadrat land-type surveys.
This year has been full of fieldwork (with loads more to come next year) which we hope has inspired
Cranford students took in the joys of the Piccadilly line, wondered at the Victorian architecture, milliondollar mansions and ‘boujie’ bakeries.
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After a million questions about packed lunches, what to wear and whether the new Jordans were appropriate, students arrived at school early for a full day of fieldwork. Welly boots and clipboard – check!
Caitlin Arnold (Key Stage 3 Humanities Curriculum and Assessment Co-ordinator)
Cranford Geographers to be interested and engaged in the world around them.
After half-term it was time for the urban geography trips. Prepared with clipboards and questionnaires, 240 year 9 and 10 students were ready to investigate how quality of life differs between inner city South Kensington and outer city Hounslow. Over 8 days and with help from 8 different teachers, all students safely tubed, bused and walked across London.
A massive shout out and thanks to the following staff, who helped support the fieldwork trips: Rita Berndt, James Grammaticas, Shobana Reji, Alisha Qaddoos, Salma Hamadi, Bradley King and Krystie Field.
‘It was interesting to learn about because I have never done fieldwork before’ Maya Ganger (year 7) Field trips provide an invaluable opportunity for students to embrace the physical and human environments that they spend so much time studying in the classroom. Studies have found the opportunities to conduct hands-on fieldwork helps students to ‘do geography’ and to ‘think geographically’ about their world – a key reason why they are a compulsory and essential part of the Geography GCSE at Cranford. Summer fieldwork began in May 2022, with 120 year 10 students visiting Amersham field centre. Students investigated changes in the River Wye and the impact on flooding upstream and downstream.
Despite many of our students never having been to a rural area, students said: ‘It was really helpful for consolidating our rivers knowledge and for our exams plus we got to use new equipment such as the hydroprop’ Krithik Balamugunthan (year 10)
After some protests all students bravely stepped into the river to help collect data about river width, depth, velocity, and field sketches. With lots of data and damp socks students were ready to return to Cranford and complete the rivers fieldwork section of their exam.
After several disrupted years – Cranford Geographers were back out in the field!
The combination of investigation and not being in the classroom made this one of the enjoyable and memorable topics of the year: ‘It was good fun because we got to be in the fresh air and learn about the environment’ Himatullah Baha (year 7)
One of the key aspects of support for teacher training that the school provides is its outstanding CPD programme with particular use of Mini Action Research Projects (MARPs). After their success in the previous academic year, the Teaching and Learning team supported the 2021-2022 teacher trainees in completing their MARPs on foci of their choice. The final presentations were not only insightful and well structured, but they were also indicative of the depth of pedagogical knowledge and passion that our trainee cohort has for teaching.
This academic year has been a busy yet exciting year for the Teaching and Learning team at Cranford Community College. We introduced and implemented the new Early Career Framework (ECF) with its large cohort of Early Career Teachers (ECTs) who successfully gained their QTS in July 2021. The ECF is a twoyear induction programme for new teachers and encourages extensive use of pedagogical readings for developing teaching and learning within the classroom as well as action-research projects. Whilst the programme was new to us, many of our ECTs were not – a fantastic example of how our trainee teachers continue on to stay with us after completing their initial teacher training year.
We have had trainees train with us on a variety of different routes this year – Teach First, School Direct and PGCE. Three of these were former Cranford students who returned to the school to not only train and qualify as teachers but also to give back to their local community, a trend that continues on into the new academic year. Our initial teacher trainees have also continued to stay on with us after gaining their QTS this July and will begin their ECT induction with us in September 2022. To recognise their achievement and success in gaining their QTS and completing a challenging training year, we hosted a celebration event for this for which you can see some of the photos here.
As part of whole school CPD, the Teaching and Learning team were able to implement the Developmental Observation cycles for all teaching staff. This was a fantastic success as it enabled within department as well as cross-departmental support through the GROWTH coaching method, establishing a platform for sharing best practice as well as the process of continuous self-reflection and action. Through this development in the CPD ethos of the school, there is no doubt that teaching staff at Cranford Community College will continue to go from strength to strength.
Teaching and Learning Team 2021-2022 48
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Amrat Atwal and Sahrish Shaikh (Senior Teachers Teaching & Learning)
I am a former student of Cranford Community College and having returned as a trainee teacher, I was able to quickly see the positive changes across the school. These included, but were not limited to, the use of the Restorative Justice approach, development of high-tech resources for use in classrooms and pedagogically focused development in the quality of teaching. As a school, Cranford Community College has provided me with support at every step of my training year through the CPD sessions allowing for greater recall and retention of important information and knowledge. As a whole, my experience has been one that will be positively shared with others and I believe the journey I’ve embarked upon with CCC has resulted in me having all the necessary tools and knowledge to be a great ECT and further improve as I become a more experienced teacher.
It feels like a long time ago that I was being welcomed to Cranford during the Teach First induction in the Summer of 2021. Since then I have been embraced by the Geography Department and school community. From day one Cranford’s Teaching and Learning team have supported my development in the classroom and beyond the classroom. Through regular developmental observations, professional development and scheduled mentoring, I have been able to better manage and overcome challenges I faced in behaviour, lesson planning, adaptive teaching, and workload. It is clear Cranford values the energy and perspective of their trainees and I have been provided with ample opportunity to take on additional responsibilities from leading geography fieldtrips to taking on KS3 Curriculum and Assessment lead in my department. I look forward to another year both teaching in and learning from Cranford’s community.
Working at Cranford this year has been an enlightening experience. Having previously taught abroad, it was great to come back and teach in a school within my local area. I feel that I have really progressed this year, in terms of organisation, planning as well as building a strong rapport with both students and staff. Being a member of the Mathematics department, I witnessed a strong support system which led to me receiving excellent feedback from various teacher observations. I have also enjoyed partaking in extra-curricular activities, such as football with KS3 students during Mind Body Soul, supporting with the Sixth Form Cultural Fashion Show and visiting the Bank of England with the Year 13 Economics class. I am very much looking forward to working with such a prominent school in the borough that takes utmost pride in its core values, as well as contributing more to the school and developing as a teacher.
Harminder Plaha – Maths (School Direct)
Caitlin Arnold – Geography (Teach First)
One of the reasons I decided to train at Cranford Community College for my teacher training year is because I am an ex-student. Being from the local area, as well as attending Cranford Community College myself, motivated me to give back to my local community. I am able to bring my experiences to teaching, allowing me to have a deeper understanding of the issues students go through. With this understanding I am able to adapt my teaching styles to better suit the students of and inspire them to not only love Psychology but broaden their mindset of what they can achieve if they work hard. The work environment at Cranford is one that allows you to flourish and work toward greater independence in becoming an outstanding practitioner.
Safwan Sheikh – IT & Computing (School Direct)
Adnan Nassari – Maths (PGCE) A new cohort of Teachers Graduate in 2022 49 LEARNINGANDTEACHING
Aleena Khan – Psychology (School Direct)
Training at Cranford was a great experience. The ongoing support from the Senior Leadership Team and my mentor ensured my journey through the training year was smooth. I had the opportunity to teach a range of classes which gave me a wide breadth of knowledge on the IT & Computing curriculum at all key stages. The program strikes a perfect balance between being directed and giving you the independence you need to progress as a practitioner in the field at a healthy rate. The school has a highly diverse demographic which is perfect for the training year as you are able work with pupils from all walks of life. I believe it is of utmost importance to train with an institution that provides a clear progression ladder for your career and Cranford does this so well. I am very excited to reach the next milestone in this journey I started two years ago.
My absolute favourite part of this year, however, has been getting to know and building relationships with the students. It is the students that make Cranford such a fantastic place to work; they are driven, hard-working, and aspirational. I have been able to develop a positive relationship with all of the students that I teach – as well as some I don’t—and I really look forward to nurturing these relationships over the coming years.
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I can’t believe I have only been working at Cranford for a year. Since I started teaching here, I have grown in confidence in the classroom, developed my practice as a teacher, and built strong relationships with both the staff and student body throughout the school. Cranford is incredibly supportive of teachers training here; staff run CPD sessions for trainees each week on different areas within teaching – from student metacognition and recall to teacher wellbeing and workload-management. This CPD, run by the Teaching and Learning team, is a whole-school initiative that has the best interests of developing new teachers at heart. As a trainee, I have been encouraged to observe outstanding teaching practice across the entire school, which has been fundamental to improving my own pedagogy. All teachers training at Cranford are lucky to have the support of the entire school behind them.
The opportunities I have had this year are extensive; teaching an A-Level class, taking on a Year 7 form class, and organising a student trip to the theatre name just a few. As an English trainee, I have found the entire English department – postholders, my mentor, as well as other Early Career teachers – to be an absolute bedrock of support that has allowed me to develop and thrive, professionally and personally. Teaching English in such a diverse environment is a real privilege, and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading my favourite texts with students as well as exploring new ones with them for the first time. All of the staff at Cranford, and particularly in the English department, are aligned in ethos, values and vision, and I feel like I have developed professional relationships that I will continue to learn from as I continue my teaching career here.
Oscar Johnson – English (Teach First)
Sukhjeet Kudhail (Head of IT and Computing Department)
Jasleen Ghattoray (year 8)
One of the highlights of this year has been the students’ excitement in getting back to our engaging KS3 curriculum on the computers. Students have covered a range of both creative and technical units producing some fantastic games through visual programming, analysed data using spreadsheet software and some impressive reports on innovation within technology. The curriculum is fun and interesting with a high level of stretch and challenge, equipping students with directly transferable skills.
Sukhjeet Kudhail (Head of IT and Computing Department)
“Being in the Amazon GetIT competition was a brilliant experience learning leadership skills. It was fantastic to experience the process and to be a part of the journey. We had so much fun creating and designing the app. This was amazing as it taught us how to use marketing and advertisement and most importantly having fun. This was an incredible time solving problems for the community and helping them by creating an app. The most significant skill we have learned through participating in the Amazon GetIT competition is teamwork. We had all worked together to combine all our fantastic ideas into one app design, demonstrating passion and determination. This competition has helped us develop our skills which we can take on in the future”.
“Over the course of 4 months, every Wednesday during period 0, I participated in the Amazon GetIT competition workshop which was run by Ms Kudhail. In these sessions, we were working on a project to create an app design to benefit the local community. After the planning process, towards the end, we presented our app design to an employee who works at Amazon Headquarters. I learnt many skills from this competition such as: team working skills, presentation skills and leadership skills. These attributes were key in the process of planning the end result and I enjoyed working with my peers in developing the project”.
The different pathways offered at both KS4 and KS5 remain one of our many strengths as we ensure that students have an option to choose a course that is best suited to them, either the academic, technical or vocational route. This year saw our first cohort of T Level students complete the course along with the industry placements. It was a remarkable experience going out to visit the students at several different work places, and seeing them thrive in the working environment. We aim to continue to develop and strengthen our ties with our industry partners.
Palveer Layal (year 8) IT and Computing Department2021-2022
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This year we were lucky enough to have both Amazon and Cisco deliver apprenticeship talks to both our year 12 and 13 students to help guide and inspire them. They provided information on the whole process, from the application stage as well as how to progress up the hierarchy once successful. Students found these talks most beneficial and have submitted apprenticeship Asapplications.adepartment, we are proud of the opportunities this year has brought and wish to continue growing and supporting students to reach their full potential.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) GetIT
We have had yet another successful year with taking part in the AWS GetIT programme. Students have been working in mixed groups to design an app that would solve a problem in our school or in our local community. The ideas that were generated covered a range of different areas from; recycling, budgeting, buddy systems and health issues. When the groups presented their ideas to our AWS ambassador, she was really impressed with the extensive range of ideas the groups had generated, along with the thought gone into the different features the app would include. Students attended weekly period 0 sessions to help develop their ideas and produce a presentation that covered; the initial problem, the possible solutions, the technology they planned to use within their apps and then finally what their app would look like. Once their presentations were ready the groups presented them to the AWS ambassador. Both of us were extremely impressed with how well prepared, mature, supportive and confident they all were. A huge well done to all for taking part, you should all be very proud of yourselves.
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We were delighted to receive an invitation to the BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT awards evening. One of our proud placement partners, Ajar Technologies had invited us. Without hesitation we accepted the invitation and were looking forward to a night celebrating Isha Ali’s amazing achievement. Ajar had nominated Isha for the Digital T Level student of the year award. The board, however, reviewed the application and felt that her journey at Cranford and Ajar warranted something a bit more special so a recognition award for progression was announced on the night. Isha was truly overwhelmed when her name was read out as winner at the end of the evening. We are so proud of what she has achieved over these past 2 years in the Digital T Level course and placement and we have no doubt that Isha will continue her triumph as she embarks upon her journey of starting a degree level apprenticeship with Ajar Technologies. A true T Level success story and many more to come!
Many of our students have already been offered work at their industry placements and many have also applied and been accepted on to degree courses ranging from social work to child psychology to teaching, which will allow them to continue to pursue their passion of working within the sector and making a difference to the lives of our future generations.
Our T Level students have continued to complete their industry placements and apply the pedagogy they learn within the classroom. Students have fed back that the topics they learn are pertinent within the context of the local community where their placements usually are and have allowed them an opportunity to ‘give back’ to their community by helping young children learn and develop as well as give our students a real sense of social connectedness.
Barinder Dosanjh (Head of Social Sciences)
BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT Awards
The course curriculum has been designed by us in a way that encompasses employability, enrichment and pastoral elements which are vital in order to get our students ready for higher education or facilitate a career in early education. We ensure that students are taught in a way that allows them to apply their pedagogical knowledge to the skills they are learning at their industry placement in ‘real time’ since both take place side by side throughout the duration of the course. This allows our students to develop a deeper understanding of the requirements of industry placement and the reality of what work within the early sector encompasses.
Sukhjeet Kudhail (Head of IT and Computing Department)
“This placement has been a great opportunity for me to really find out what type of work is involved in an early years setting and I have been able to apply all the knowledge I learn at school at my placement. It has definitely helped me to make up my mind that I want to pursue a degree and career in this field, I recently went for an interview at university and found that I was surprisingly confident and able to express my views and ideas more clearly and really express myself through the use of my body language. I really feel that this is due to the experience I have been gaining working alongside other professionals during my industry placement because it has made me more confident in social situations and I am able to communicate with others more easily”.
Wolisha Fernandes (year 13)
T Level Education and Child Development
T Level - Year 13 The first Cohort
Emmanuel Adebowale (year 13)
Following successful completion of my required placements, I was offered part time roles during my school holidays. During my placement and through school holidays, I supported the UK Head of Operations working on account management and service support for their automated task management app RealCADENCE which allows enterprise organisations to complete tasks through an automated process. My role included supporting the service desk, solving technical issues, and designing help guides, along with general admin and marketing tasks. My experience with Ajar Technology and VoloForce UK has helped my confidence grow and I am able to speak confidently with various colleagues, clients and stakeholders. During my time, I have joined client meetings working with colleagues in the UK and USA and contributing to live projects. I was involved in a live project for Sky implementing changes in the system for their needs. I have learnt how to conduct myself in a work environment, from learning the different styles of professional communication to being able to present in front of people with confidence”.
A huge congratulations to the students for being part of the first ever cohort of the Digital T Level. They have triumphed, persevered, been adaptable and remained motivated throughout the 2 year course. All students have successfully completed 9 weeks of industry placement, where they all made fantastic impressions with the companies, so much so that they have asked for more placement students next year. Some students have secured part time work and one student will be completing a degree level apprenticeship with her placement provider. The IT and Computing Department are so very proud of you all!
Isha Ali (year 13)
“The T Level Digital Production, Design and Development course was the most eye opening 2 years of my life and was a risk I’m glad I took. Being one of the first to go through the course, I had no previous older students to get guidance or a sense of direction from or even past papers to go through.
Sukhjeet Kudhail (Head of IT and Computing Department)
While deep in assignments and coursework, it wasn’t necessarily at the top of my list in terms of what to study at 6th Form, however with the balanced workload and real-world work experience (working with the Department of Health and Social Care), this course has really set me up for multiple career paths like apprenticeships or straight into the workforce with experience gained from the 9 weeks work placement. I can confidently say that T Levels is the course for the future. I’m someone who really enjoyed the course and the connections I made”.
“When first choosing the course, I was unsure of what it had included as it was a new course to begin with. However, over the 2 years I realised that picking this course has opened up a lot of opportunities for me. Throughout year 12, there was a lot of content that you had to understand and familiarise yourself with. I joined Ajar Technology on a T Level work placement in the summer of 2021 working directly with their software solution RealCADENCE by VoloForce.
Tuesday 12th July 2022 was the day I received an award. Not knowing what award I was receiving, at the end of the day I walked home with an award for progression and a smiling face from everyone that came and supported me. It was an amazing experience of meeting new people and making that new connection with different people from different companies. At first, I was a bit scared, as I didn’t know if I was supposed to speak on stage, however it was way better then I imagined it in my head. I thank everyone who supported me on that incredible night.
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Isha Ali (year 13)
BCS Awards
Norwegian vocational education is hugely impressive. We observed practice demonstrating huge amounts of technical skill but also secure and highly academic specialist knowledge, culminating in a visit to the Level 5 and 6 maritime school in Tromsø school where they use their new £1.6m virtual bridge to train ship captains of the largest vessels on the world’s seas.
C ranford’s exciting Erasmus project, delayed by the Covid pandemic, got back into full swing in February 2022 with our second visit to Kvaløya Videregående Skole in ForTromsø.Sukhjeet Kudhail (Head of IT and Computing) this was a first trip to the arctic circle joining Mudassir Sarwar (Data Manager) and Rob Ind (Joint Head of School) on a project building collaborative relationships with high performing technical education systems around the world. Kvaløya (‘Whale Island’) school specialise in Construction, alongside the general education they offer their 16-16 year old students, working closely with the industry in Tromsø to educate the carpenters, plumbers, concrete workers and tinsmiths Northern Norway needs. We were also fortunate to visit Nordkjosbotn upper secondary school who showed us round the mechanical and electrical engineering facilities.
Rob (JointIndHead of School) Cabins built by students and then sold to community.local
Back to the Arctic
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Our hosts, Oddbjørn, Jon and Tore, were fantastic and we even got a night out in Tromsø to see the ‘Norwegian Ed Sheeran’ – not quite! Tromsø is very near the top of the world geographically but also in technical education and there is a lot we can learn from them. We look forward to working together to create opportunities for our students to have the chance to witness the magic of the Arctic in the future.
Den Bosch is a beautiful medieval city which is the capital of North Brabant. We were lucky enough to explore the town and its surroundings by car, bike, horse, train, canal boat and even rollercoaster (on a backstage tour of the De Efteling theme park) – quite a journey. We can’t wait to go back for the final leg of our project in September 2022.
M ay 2022 saw Cranford’s long-awaited trip to the Netherlands as part of our Erasmus project sharing best practice with high performing vocational education providers across Europe. Sukhjeet Kudhail (Head of IT and Computing), Mudassir Sarwar (Data Manager) and Rob Ind (Joint Head of School) are leading the project from Cranford to support our delivery of the new T levels and sharing our expertise in assessment practices and integration of migrant students with our European Koningneighbours.Willem
INTERNATIONALISM
Rob Ind (Joint Head of School)
I College is a Vocational school primarily for 16-19 year olds. They welcomed us warmly to their college, which is spread over several campuses in the heart of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, introducing it as its very own country. And with some reason. The college is host to 18,000 students and boasts a hairdressers, theatre and several different restaurants all staffed and run by the Withstudents.their cutting-edge facilities, UNESCo school status and recent accolade as the most sustainable education institute in Holland, our Dutch partners were the perfect hosts to us and our Norwegian colleagues. We were able to learn about their teaching methods and impressive relationships with the local labour market, as well as observing a coaching session for training social workers and meeting with the teachers in their ICT academy.
Cranford Goes Dutch 55
Rob Ind (Joint Head of School)
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Since the project began, our new T level courses in Digital Production, Design and Development and Education and Childcare have seen their first cohorts shine and these students, as well as the new 6th form leadership team played an integral role in the visit. All the students involved in observations, feedback groups and tours hosted with maturity and skill and our guests commented on how aspirational and engaging they were.
We are also grateful to Sheena Poley, Hounslow Local Authority’s Head of School Organisation and Access to Education for an illuminating presentation on Hounslow’s educational provision for asylum seekers and other students arriving from overseas; and to Springwell Primary school for welcoming us with open arms to meet with our students working to support their early years and Key Stage 1 Theprovision.social side of the programme enabled us to embrace our cultural history with visits to central London and the London Eye and Hampton Court Place – well, international collaboration isn’t all work, work, work.
Cranford welcomes our Erasmus partners The first week of June 2022 brought with it the opportunity to welcome our Norwegian and Dutch Erasmus partners back to Cranford after their first visit in 2019. Whilst some of the team have changed, our focus on sharing best practice in the areas of inclusion, assessment and technical education have not and we spent a brilliant week showing off our school, local area and city with a focus on our developing industry partnerships and integrating new migrant students. In fact, the itinerary proved so popular two extra Norwegian language teachers joined our group.
The Erasmus+ Soft Skills Project is something that Cranford Community College had started to part-take in pre-pandemic. However, the first visit for this was delayed… until April 2022. April 2022 saw not only the first visit and event of the Erasmus+ project, but it was also Cranford’s first teacher and student international activity to take place in over two years. It was a great way to re-start our international visits in person! The project involves collaborative work between 4 schools: Liceo Statale Bonaventura Rescigno (Italy), Zespok Skol NR2 Wgrowiec (Poland), Agrupamento De Escolas De Ourique (Portugal) and Cranford Community College (England). It is a project that requires students to address a number of different themes: culture, language, mental health and enterprise whilst also presenting their work and working collaboratively to develop their soft skills. This first trip of the entire project and scheme was a huge success. 3 teachers and 6 students visited Salerno, Italy during the school Easter break in April. The year 12 students were from different backgrounds and ethnicities, as were the teachers, which celebrated the diversity of our school. This diversity enabled rich and meaningful conversations and formation of friendships. Whilst in Salerno, students took part in workshops and presentations as well as local school-based activities such as sports competitions, a treasure hunt, snap-shot lessons and local excursions. Here, the students were able to develop their soft skills by immersing themselves in activities with their counterparts from the partner schools. One activity that proved to be popular was the interaction with a language teaching robot, Pepper. This robot was used by the school to support English language teaching as well as play a number of interactive games. However, the academic setting was not the only place where soft-skills and friendships were developed. Much of the week was also spent exploring the local attractions and learning about the culture and history. The day trip to Pompeii was one trip that stands out – to witness the remains of the population and city frozen in time as a result of a natural disaster is not something to be taken lightly. It was beautiful yet haunting. Being in Italy also meant that we couldn’t not visit some iconic Cathedrals in the area or one of the oldest gardens in Salerno, a place where many of the forefathers of European medicine found their methods and herbs for treatment.
Italy April Erasmus+2022Soft Skills Project 57 INTERNATIONALISM
Wow!
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Some of my memories include learning about the history of the Margareta Pizza from, not the Italians, but our very own Italian expert Mr. Alham, the vast entertainment from Harjot, and the amazing stories over our evening dinners from the rest of the students. Not to mention our great trip leader Ms Shaikh, who made visiting the Amalfi Coast possible even on a very tight itinerary. Our experience of Italy was inspiring, from our stay in the quiet town of Salerno, to our visits to the ruins of Pompeii, shopping in Naples, and finishing off with the breath-taking views of the Amalfi Coast. This was a trip I will always remember, memories I will cherish and friends I will keep. Thank you, Erasmus 2022.
Baljinder Dhillon (KS5 IT and Computing Co-ordinator)
Of course, no trip to Italy could be complete without countless visits to gelato parlours, pizza places and its beautiful coastal towns. After a very busy week we were able to enjoy some downtime by heading to the mesmerising Amalfi coast. Here, the bustling markets and food vendors were full of life and were ideal for lots of Instagram photos. Whilst this Erasmus+ trip was a great way for students to develop their soft-skills and build friendships, it was also a fantastic opportunity for our staff to get to know each other better. Dinners in the evenings were always referred to as ‘family meals’ and we had the opportunity to catch up with our experiences of the day as well as any funny moments we had as well as bicker about things such as who was making the most friends! By the end of the week, students from all four schools had formed very close friendships (which continue to this day and have resulted in some holiday plans too!) alongside developing their soft skills – a big reason for why Cranford Community College seeks to establish and nurture international relationships with partner schools and encourage its students to Thankparticipate.you to all the staff and students who made this a fantastic first international trip and Erasmus+ event. We now look forward to the next Erasmus+ Soft Skills visit in Autumn 2022 where our staff and students will be heading to Poland!
Sahrish Shaikh (Senior Teacher / Trip Leader)
INTERNATIONALISM
What an absolutely fantastic opportunity this was for both the staff and the students. It was an amazing chance to experience different cultures and school life in Italy and meet a range of fun, energetic and very welcoming hosts. Our students did us proud. They were extremely mature, responsible, and great ambassadors for Cranford Community College. It was exciting to witness how quickly the students bonded with each other and the strong friendship groups that were formed in such a short space of time. For some of our students, this trip was the first experience of life outside of their home environment and comfort zone. This has been a real positive impact on their personal development. As teachers, we too developed a great bond with other colleagues sharing different traditions and cultures. We look forward to the staff and students’ pending visit in February 2023 when we will have the opportunity to host the Erasmus Project.
Before we embarked onto this trip, I had mixed feelings on what to expect. I was excited to travel abroad with my friends, getting to know them better, share great moments, meeting, and networking with new people from different countries. During these times of preparation, I was more worried about the language barriers between us and the rest of the groups and was wondering how we would be able to communicate with each other. I found out very quickly that this would not be a problem as they all spoke exceptionally good English. We visited a lot of tourist attractions such as Pompeii, visiting Naples and Salerno, where we stayed and where the Italian School is based, having dinners in various restaurants, and overall having an enjoyable Duringtime. this trip we made some long-lasting memories. Since then, we have also stayed connected through social media. I learnt a lot of valuable skills which I have taken with me since. It was an amazing trip full of memories that I will keep forever.
Harjot Chawla (year 12) 59
Oliwia Bartnicka (year 12) I was one out of 8 students selected to go on the trip. One wonderful thing about this trip was that every day there was different activity to do which allowed us to bond with the European students. One key skill this trip has taught me is that confidence is key to making connections. The whole point of this programme is for students to network and that is exactly what we did. I am very thankful to be one of the 8 chosen to go on this trip and I can happily say that due to this trip I have been able to develop my soft skills immensely and it was one of the best experiences I have had.
INTERNATIONALISM
Leroy Eshun (year 12) I participated in the Erasmus+ Soft Skills programme trip to Italy. Prior to the trip we had to work as a group to prepare presentations that we would present about our country, school, and local area. This was extremely useful as it gave our group a chance to get to know each other better, it also required us to be organised and meet deadlines to create interesting and informative presentations. The trip was an unforgettable experience where we made many fantastic memories. It was my first time away from my parents which was quite nerve-racking, however it meant that I became more independent and now believe that I would be capable of travelling on my own or moving away from my parents sometime in the future. During the trip we spoke to a multitude of people and built fantastic friendships, as well as learned about daily life and school in different countries, this has been very insightful and has provided us with information about the world that was previously unknown to us. The programme was full of amazing trips to historical and religious sites (Pompeii and many churches) as well as visiting and exploring the area where we stayed which was extremely exciting and was a chance for us to experience the beauty of another country.
Shamaila Baig (year 12) During the flight from Heathrow to Naples, I wondered if the trip’s exciting nature would be diminished by the primary school-based setting of the trip. However, I ended up not wanting to leave the school and its students with the vibrant nature of each of the Erasmus groups. The depth of personality and diversity of culture and thought processes encouraged a new longing for travel. The Italians were truly welcoming taking us on mini tours around Naples and even paying for my coffee! This welcoming nature has resulted in new relationships across the continent. Italy and its reputation for its special Pizza and Pasta also stood strong, by giving me the most perfect Pizza from Antonio. This coupled with the numerous Gelato shops has me longing to go back already. Erasmus was a truly memorable experience.
Shaan Cheema (year 12) Taking part in the Erasmus + project was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. This trip has also served to remind me of my love for languages, as I made it a mission in the week to learn as much Italian as I could (which I still use now). Moreover, as a Christian, I could not get enough of the beautiful Cathedrals and breath-taking Christian art found all throughout Italy. Particularly, visiting the tomb of Matthew the Apostle in Salerno will always be a monumental moment in my life. I am profoundly grateful to all the staff who helped to make this programme a success. The unforgettable memories made, the skills developed, the amazing friendships formed, and the hospitality of the Italians will remain in my heart for a long time to come.
Samuel Dickson (year 12) 60
INTERNATIONALISM
On the trip we were able to develop our social and communication skills while meeting new people. We were put in groups with people from Italy, Portugal and Poland, so communication was not necessarily as easy as we thought it was going to be for the first couple of days, due to language barriers. However, as the days went on, we were able to get along perfectly, despite English not being everyone’s first language. Being able to mix with people from different areas of Europe was interesting as we were able to see the difference in culture between countries that are physically so close to one another. Our stay in Italy was made even better by the hospitality of the Italians and their welcoming nature towards us.
The trip also proved to test my willpower as fasting for the entire trip and being surrounded by authentic Italian pizza was very challenging. This trip was also very memorable for myself, Ms Dhillon and Ms Shaikh. We had so much fun supporting the students, getting to know them more and it felt as if we have become a ‘large Italian family’. Words cannot describe the pleasure I have had to support the students and represent Cranford abroad.
The trip included 2 days dedicated to visiting our partner school, located in a remote town called “Roccapiemonte”. Instantly after our hospitable welcome, which felt like it was a family reunion, our students had befriended all the students and were very engaging and confident in their presentations and brought in their “individual characteristics” – which won the hearts of the Italian, Portuguese and Polish students and teachers. They had opportunities to socialise with the other students for the rest of the day and were then extremely excited about returning to the school later that week. I know for certain that the students have made lifelong friends across Europe, and it was very emotional watching them say their goodbyes and seeing some tears. We were lucky enough to have witnessed first-hand how the Erasmus project is useful for our students and staff alike and would hope to see this continue, despite doubts being raised following Brexit. At the same time, it has made us very keen to attend further school trips and establish global alliances with other schools.
Alham Ahmad (Maths & EconomicsArrivederciTeacher)
Departing rainy Heathrow and arriving in rainy Naples, it was a chaotic journey to our hotel in Salerno, albeit with an amazing backdrop of Mount Vesuvius surrounding us. We spent days exploring the sights around the Bay of Naples, including Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and the city of Naples. Our phone storage and luggage became full by the end of the trip.
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To say that our one-week visit to Italy was enjoyable and flew by quickly would be an understatement. After 2 years of lockdown and travel restrictions we were all looking forward to travelling again. I was made aware of the Erasmus trip to Italy by Shaan Cheema during my Economics lesson after discussing the discrepancy between living standards and income inequality in Northern vs Southern Europe. Almost instantly I had signed myself up on the basis that I would be “supporting the students with their Italian”. There was so much for both teachers and students alike to complete before the trip (including the onerous task of completing 10 PLFs and vaccination documents). The students had to work on various soft skills over the course of their 2-day presentations, representing the school, the local area and the entire country in a foreign country. In preparation for our travel, we would have a Friday Period 0 weekly meet-up where Mr Fraser would give us more information on what to prepare for. The students were very enthusiastic about developing their soft skills in preparation for their presentations in Italy, but equally excited about learning Italian and attended some sessions at Cranford with me before the trip. Their level of Italian really impressed their Italian friends who then taught them some words in the Neapolitan dialect.
Student feedback on their feelings about PSHCE are overwhelmingly positive showing that they truly value their lessons as a key part of their secondary curriculum.
PSHCE at Cranford focuses on developing students’ understanding of themselves and the world around them. The curriculum has a focus on personal responsibility, morality and mental health alongside the wider world and life in modern society. We engage issues of equality, fairness, human rights and look at current events and societal issues. We examine gender, sexuality and race whilst learning how to reflect, evaluate and think critically. We hope to help pupils fulfil their potential, develop a positive attitude and learn how to overcome obstacles and develop useful lifelong skills.
We are excited to report on some of the major developments in PSHCE this year. Firstly, we were delighted to add a new specialist teacher to our team, Miss Carroll, and to expand our PSHCE offer into both Year 10 and Year 12. Our new curriculum in Year 10 focuses on SRE (sex and relationships education) from looking at life online through social media and real life to learning about consent and understanding personal health and Inresponsibility.Year12the curriculum is very broad, journeying through mental health, careers, domestic violence, negative lifestyle choices, enterprise and financial capability and skills! It is a pleasure to add support to our Year 12 students at such an important time in their life, thinking about next steps and their futures. We feel the best way to get an idea about PSHCE here is to hear from our students themselves.
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Barbara Lodge (Head of PSHCE Department)
“PSHCE can help you change your behaviour and reflect on yourself and your choices. It is a great lesson where you can learn about consequences of your behaviour and actions. This is one of the most important things I have learned”.
Nikola Szczawinska (year 12) Mental Health - Let’s talk day – Thursday 3rd February 2022 Period 1 Period 2 Period 3 Period 4 Period 5 Dealing with StressDiscuss stress and the impactit has on your mental health.Watch 5-minute video on
Kal-El Muhammad (year 8)
What things make youfeel happy, sad, angryexcited?orHow do you show thesedifferent emotions?Could you start a mood diary,write an entry for how youare feeling today? Create collage/posteraof all the things that makeyou unique. It can includethings you enjoy, adjectivesthat describe you, pictures,text. Share it with somebodywhen it is finished.
“PSHCE has been helpful for me. There have been things I’ve learnt which give me a view of how the world actually is. I think PSCHE is a very effective subject for young people, helping with mental health and improving life skills”.
Talk aboutthe feelyouworryingthatthingsareoryouunsureabout. It can really help totalk things through! (Pairs orsmall groups, or you couldwrite it down individually).
Gratitude list/diaryWrite a gratitude list andmake sure you add to it every What are achievementsproudestyourand Happy Box!Make yourself a box of allthe things that make you feel Group or classdiscussion Why do peoplefind it hard to discuss mental The Story of YouWrite a short story that tellssomebody
Choose an activity and deliver it at the beginning or end of your lesson (Minimum - 15 minutes) Please feel free to adapt any of the ideas to suit your class. 63
PSHCE
Suhana Akhter (year 9)
Barez Popal (year 8)
Write a letter toyourself Include how youare feeling and why. If youare feeling a bit low, howcould you help with this?Write a list of things you cando if you feel low. MeditationHow do you let off steam?Think about what you dowhen you are feeling sad orangry.Could you find a track onYouTube and meditate to it?
Aleeza Saeed (year 7)
“As a sixth former, PSHCE has been helpful in providing a more guided approach to life after secondary school, and has been a good avenue for respectful debate, where students are able to freely discuss misconceptions. The sex education and lifestyle lessons I think were particularly useful for students, as they provide answers to questions that I think a lot of students are anxious to ask, and do so in a relaxed and non-judgemental environment. The debates that spurred from these topics were explored maturely, and I think led to many people widening their worldviews and respect towards others”.
Muqadas Kabiri (year 8)
It’s OK not to be OKWatch the 15-minute video.There are opportunities fordiscussion built into the https://www.youtube.com/clipwatch?v=e-_KHth-FPo SingingSing along to a song you like.Find a song on YouTubewith lyrics and get the classto sing along. What is anxiety andhow to overcome it?Ted Talk on Anxiety – 15watch?v=WWloIAQpMcQhttps://www.youtube.com/minutesMeditation 10-minutehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZToicYcHIOUmeditation–Howtobepresent.
“PSHCE has been helpful to me since there was a lot that I wasn’t aware of. I have also been helped to understand the consequences of my actions: even if I type something that might seem funny etc., it may not be funny to an opposing person. I have been made aware of the effects of social media, online grooming and more”.
The Black dog –Dealing depressionwithWatch the short video clip –5 minutes and discuss ingroups what you learnt.What other types of mentalillness are https://www.youtube.com/watch?there?v=XiCrniLQGYc
“I feel that PSHCE has helped me a lot with understanding my emotions and how I can be a better person. I have learned that emotions are normal and it’s ok to feel down sometimes. PSHCE has also helped me be a better person and how I should help other people when they are dealing with stress and how to be a kinder person”.
Gurnoor Arora (year 10)
“I personally find PSHCE a great lesson as it allows us to have an education about mental and physical health that other lessons do not teach. All the staff members that teach PSHCE are open and kind, creating healthy bonds with all students. My favourite topic in PSHCE was when we made a project about gambling, as we had many opportunities to work independently to research and create a PowerPoint about an interesting topic”.
“After having done PSHCE for about 3 years now, I can safely say that it has become one of my favourite subjects. The teachers are kind, understanding and open minded. The PSHCE department always try and teach important, serious life impacting topics whilst also making them fun. PSHCE is a subject I personally feel all students should have, because it truly is amazing and you learn so much from it”.
What’s on your mind?
A-Z EmotionsHow many differentemotions can you think of?Can you name an emotion foreach letter of the alphabet? Exercise – Create fitnessgoals! Write a plan of how youcould incorporate moreexercise into your week. Happiness PlaylistWrite down a playlist ofsongs that make you feel (Whenhappy/positive.yougethome,createtheplaylist).
https://www.gcsepod.com/stress.mental-health/
Dancehappy!yourselfPut on a dance tune fromYouTube and dance. Howdoes it make you feel?Example: Choreograph -Shape of you, Ed https://www.youtube.com/Sheeran.watch?v=Kl5B6MBAntI
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EDUCATIONRELIGIOUS
Avneet Kang (Head of Religious Education Department)
As a department we promote the capacity to think critically in order to make well informed, open minded and thoughtful judgements. Topical and controversial issues are not shied away from but are welcomed, providing vital opportunities for important conversations to be had within the safety of a classroom and a teacher to facilitate. This year, Year 9 students engaged in formal debates and TED talks on the topic of Crime and Punishment, specifically on Capital Punishment. Students were taught lessons on the different forms of punishment and given a variety of case studies to examine before being put into groups to prepare for a formal debate. This allowed the students an opportunity to present their opening arguments, rebuttals as well as closing statements to their peers and practise their presentation skills.
The Religious Education Department 2021-2022
Alina Manha (year 9)
I think that the debate was fun and interesting. Both sides had really good points and had the class switching sides most of the time. It really helped me understand both point of views to later help me in the assessment. It was interesting how the class challenged the speakers with questions and their views as well, so everyone had a chance to share their ideas. Hiba Amin (year 9) Being one of the main speakers against the motion “capital punishment should be abolished” helped me to shape arguments that I didn’t personally agree with at the start. By the end of the debate, I was a lot more open-minded.
The whole class debate about capital punishment allowed everyone to come to their own conclusion about capital punishment as during the exchanges we heard many differing viewpoints. Preparing for the debate gave an insight into the different aims of punishment including who deserves the worst kind of punishment, which isn’t a straightforward thing to determine. Sana Khan (year 9)
The Religious Education department is a high performing and forward-thinking department who have created a very ambitious and innovative curriculum. The team is driven in its pursuit to develop spiritual, moral, social and culturally rich students. This is achieved by providing a uniquely broad and varied curriculum designed around the needs of our community. Students start their journey in the RE Department exploring the Eastern religions in Year 7 before moving on to the Abrahamic Faiths in Year 8.
Once they have a good understanding of the world’s major religions they are able to apply key teachings to a variety of themes studied in Year 9 such as Religious Conflict and Crime and Punishment.
Students are given ample opportunities to reflect on different beliefs which inform their personal perspective on life; to understand the consequences of their actions and strive to be a force for good in society. The diversity of the school population is celebrated as students work together and there is an appreciation of all the cultures and faiths that make up the school community and also the national and global community. This year we took this further by extending the scheme of work on Religious Conflict and adding lessons on the India- Pakistan Partition and Somalia Civil War to better reflect some of the backgrounds of our students.
In lessons, the department build religious literacy equipping students with the key knowledge and cultural capital they require to be socially aware and tolerant members of both their diverse local and wider communities. This will benefit them through every aspect of their life, as they move into higher education and the workplace, equipping them with the skills to empathise and respect the views of others and be morally competent individuals. We have begun plans for the next academic year to organise a visit to both the local gurdwara and mosque for Year 10 in the Autumn term. This will compliment their study of Sikhism Practices and Islam Practices which is a core component of the GCSE Specification.
Ayesha Kaur (year 13 Head 2022-2023)
The Thought for the Week programme is delivered to all students every week through form time.
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The Thought for the Week programme
with a range of viewpoints within TFTW and are encouraged to consider the morality of the topics and issues discussed. Form tutors are able to facilitate discussions on recognising the difference between right and wrong when looking at controversial topics. This instils an awareness of moral autonomy within students and the responsibility that comes with it, a core Modern British Value. Modern British Values are further highlighted as students are given ample opportunity to work in pairs, groups and as a class. This builds upon their social skills as they are exposed to different views which they may disagree with and learn how to cooperate and resolve conflicts. TFTW includes topics and issues from around the world and explores the stories of individuals from different cultures.
TFTW encompasses a broad spectrum of topics and issues from current affairs, social movements and ethical issues. This year TFTW included topics such as ageism, decision making, Wesak, Jesus’ teachings and intersectionality. Through exposure to topical and important topics and issues students can build upon their cultural capital and be fully aware and a part of the society they live in. TFTW provides a unique opportunity for students to explicitly focus on their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The school embraces the diversity of our students and applies for a ‘determination’ from the standing advisory council on RE this allows us to ensure TFTW includes religious teachings from all major world faiths and is not limited as well as including non-religious and humanist teachings. Through spiritual reflection on these beliefs, students are able to form their own perspective and be confident in their belief Studentssystem.arepresented
“Thought for the week has been an engaging part of form time. It has been insightful learning about current global issues, ethical debates, and topics regarding personal morality. For example, we once spoke about religious freedom and debated whether Islamophobic comics/articles published in France were immoral or an act of free speech. Thought for the week has challenged our perspectives on certain topics and has allowed us to view them from a newer perspective, as well as enhancing our conversational intelligence and confidence”.
Girl
Avneet Kang (Head of Religious Education Department)
66 EDUCATIONRELIGIOUS
Thankfully, we were able to gain access to the media room and Mr Ramsden and Ms Saroya supported us with the editing and filming. After a difficult week of recording and editing we finally finished and submitted our video, and now all we needed to do was wait. A month later and the results were in. Our entry was “highly commended” and we were awarded with a certificate for our efforts. Even though we did not win, all of us are more than happy with the fact that our video was highly considered.
Overall, taking part in this competition came with its fair share of challenges, but all of us had an amazing time working together and made many hilarious memories. Our evaluative, research, filming and editing skills have been strengthened by this competition. Moreover, all of us are extremely grateful to Ms Kang and Ms Birdi for presenting us with this opportunity, and we want to thank Ms Saroya and Mr Ramsden for all the technical support they provided to help us with our video – this success would not have been possible without them.
Samuel Dickson (Head Boy 2022-2023) and Responsibility Video Competition OF ACHIEVEMENT
This is to certify that the video: What is the responsibility in life and death: can euthanasia be morally justified?
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Oxford Uehiro Centre’s Ethics Competition Practical Ethics
ProducedSamuelby: Dickson, Samira Baiden, Husina Nyika Daniel Ortega of Cranford Community By
2022 CERTIFICATE
College has been Highly Commended Practical Ethics and Responsibility Competition Authorised
The video needed to be submitted by the 10th January 2022, so to meet this deadline whilst still thriving in our academic studies, we had to do a lot of planning and preparation as a group. We met up one period 0 a week, where we would research the necessary laws and examples which applied to our topic, formulate arguments both for and against and eventually develop an answer to the question – should Euthanasia be legal? After this initial planning stage, we then had to record the video, and with no media students on our team, this certainly proved to be a bit of a challenge.
On the 22nd of September 2021, Ms Birdi informed our Ethics class of the Oxford Uehiro Centre’s third Practical Ethics and Responsibility competition. We were required to submit a video up to 4 minutes long on an ethical problem and discuss how we thought responsibility was involved. The 4 best entries would be invited to the University of Oxford for their Ethics and Responsibility Day, where more debates would occur. After hearing that the competition was run by Oxford university, I jumped at the opportunity to take part. I quickly assembled a team with my 3 classmates: Daniel Ortega, Husina Nyika and Samira Baiden (year 12) and after some planning, we all agreed to discuss a controversial ethical dilemma in 21st century contemporary society- Euthanasia, with our question being: ‘What is the responsibility in life and death: can euthanasia be morally justified?’.
Summer Fete for Sarcoma Awareness Month
The summer fete was a good experience for all the students at Cranford for everyone to come together in order to raise awareness for Sarcoma cancer. Leading my first event at Cranford for the summer fete I have learnt what our committee and our students are capable of. We are able to interact with one another in positive ways in order to connect and enlarge our social networks through the entirety of the school. This therefore was a positive impact for us as a whole committee as we are able to say that our first event went as well as we could have ever planned. From the lead up to the actual day of the event we went through a series of preparations such as creating posters, doing assemblies, prepping the activities and bake sale that included: samosas, pakoras, cupcakes and ice creams whilst creating awareness within the student population. It was a very successful event, where we raised a total amount of £430 for Sarcoma Awareness month. We are very proud of what we achieved for our first event as a committee and we can’t wait for more events to be bigger and better in the next academic year!
67 CHARITY
Xzaara Sandhu (year 12 - Charities Committee)
•included:Pandemic or Pandemonium: are the kids alright?
As their following accounts highlight, the students felt it was a fantastic use of their time, and it is clear they gained a lot from attending and being exposed to views that they have not previously considered. Some of their reviews are extremely insightful, I look forward to even more students attending in October and reading about their experiences.
The organisers of the weekend believe there could be no better venue for a weekend festival of open-ended discussion - what they’re calling a People’s Takeover of Westminster - than Church House. The original Church House was founded in 1887, built to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria… Now a Grade II listed building, its walls resonate with history and debate - as a chamber for the General Synod, it also provided a meeting place for the two Houses of Parliament during the Second World War. Many historic speeches and events took place within the building during this time, in particular Churchill’s announcements during World War 2 including that of the sinking of German battleship Bismarck. And it is there that a number of our students, ranging from Year 9 to 6th form visited on the weekend of 9th – 10th October 2021, walking the same corridors as some of the most celebrated statesmen in British History. Given the missed opportunities due to the pandemic, it was important that as many students as possible took advantage of the free tickets for students. Now more than ever, where opinions at home and abroad seem to be getting more polarised, it is crucial for our young people to learn the skills of listening to others, reflecting upon what they hear and challenging their own mindsets. Those students who benefitted from taking a day out of their weekend to attend, had a vast array of debates and key notes speeches to choose from. These
• Assisted dying: has its time come?
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The Battle of Ideas Festival in London brings together around 300 speakers for over 70 debates over the course of a single weekend. According to one of the convenors of the festival, they believe that hashing things out in the public square helps us to understand better the world as it is and, perhaps, how it should be.
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Battles of Ideas Weekend October 2021
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Mehmoona Yousaf (Senior Teacher Pastoral) 68
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EDUCATIONRELIGIOUS
• From egg freezing to abortion: A woman’s right to choose. Free speech Culture wars Is it time to scrap exams? Hate, heresy and the fight for free speech
The Battle of Ideas Festival was a unique and memorable experience. These debates enlightened me to whole new perspectives and encouraged me to look deeper into such topics. Not only did it allow us to explore various issues around the globe, but it also introduced us to several different ideas and opinions on subjects such as: western values and should we value them, who is the party of the poor, medical breakthroughs, and many more. It also gave us the chance to prepare for our future by travelling to central London; taking trains learning directions through map reading and walking around new areas.
Pari Mahmotra (year 9)
The Battle of Ideas weekend in London truly was an amazing experience and I would love to do it again. The topics and issues that were discussed were extremely interesting, I had taken many notes down on the topics. We had taken part in the topics of western culture, the party of the poor and medicine break through. All three topics were discussed through many points of views and helped us pick up the different views upon these issues. I would love to go again. Despite all of us being the only secondary students there, we were very grateful and it was a true learning experience.
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Soha Haidery (year 9)
The Battle of Ideas Festival is inspiring, fun and interesting. It is enlightening as you listen to other people’s ideas and perspectives on the world’s problems. Throughout the festival, both the people on the panel and the audience were listing to each and respecting each other’s opinions. It changed our point of views on many different topics such as western values and medical break-throughs. It encouraged people to have their say and have their views challenged. When we went to Church House, we got to explore London too. Overall, I really enjoyed it and would want to go again.
The Battle of Ideas Festival was a fantastic opportunity granted to me by Cranford. It provided me with insight into controversial topics, while also allowing me to develop my communication and debating skills. I attended the festival on Sunday 10th of October 2022 and took part in two debates: The “Keynote Controversies”, which discussed the role of Western Values in our society today and “Letters on Liberty”, which discussed the role of conscience and how we must take it seriously. As an A Level Religious Studies student I loved taking part in these two debates, as they were rooted deeply in philosophy and especially ethics, which gave me the opportunity to apply the knowledge I’ve acquired in school in interesting and complex ways. One big take away from the festival for me is that even if you are not 100% knowledgeable about something that’s being discussed or debated, do not be afraid to put your thoughts and opinions across - you’re only going to learn from it.
Sousan Hakeemi (year 9) When I first heard about the Battle of Ideas Festival, I was hesitant. Why would I waste a perfectly good Saturday watching a bunch of discontented “experts” when I could quite easily be doing whatever people deem as entertainment these days? Regardless of my initial hesitance, I can honestly say that it was an exciting and educational experience. It illuminated topics that aren’t discussed enough, topics that the general population don’t acknowledge or even know about, topics that we blindly leave in the hands of authority and assume the position that they have everything under control. I think that is important, especially in today’s society, to be aware of what’s happening in the world and be open to new ideas. Overall, it was lovely to see how supportive and respectful everyone was of each other’s opinions and I thoroughly enjoyed the Battle of Ideas Festival.
Samuel Dickson (year 12)
Kyrah Thomas Turner (year 11)
We offer our students a variety of enrichment opportunities such as talk by the Bank of England Ambassador, future focus sessions with former students and a trip to the Bank of England Museum. To promote aspiration and support year 11 and 13 with their next phase of learning, comprehensive transition packs are provided with a programme of enrichment activities, careers advice and transition sessions. Our students are actively encouraged and supported to take part in extra-curricular activities such as university summer schools, Junior Economist of the Year Competition organised by Royal Society of Economic, FCDO Next Generation Economics Competition organised by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and essay writing competitions offered by universities.
Our students are encouraged to make links between their in-class learning and real-life events. We support our students to develop awareness of the world around them with the articles written by leading economists from Financial Times, Economist, Economics Today.
“Studying Economics in Cranford has gifted me with priceless knowledge that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Topics such as the Financial and Labour Market have primed me for the challenges of adulthood, and I can safely say that the value of the lessons have immensely impacted my education for the better. My favourite part of the course was learning about Oligopolies and the multi-faceted way they approach competition in an industry. I highly recommend studying Economics at Cranford to enrich the way you understand and view the world”. Zayia Berum (year 13)
Simran K Singh (year 13)
We aim to ignite a spark of curiosity in our students where they consider arguments from a range of different perspectives while analysing a particular decision or policy and its impact on the economy. Furthermore, we examine the impact of the theories by eminent economists on the world and why they evolve with the changing needs of the society. One such example is where students gain an insight from behavioural theories to study circumstances where consumers might be predictably irrational which help them to reflect on the decisions they make in day to day life.
E conomics at Cranford offers a broad and balanced curriculum with several opportunities to explore cultural capital through exploration of a range of economic events happening locally and internationally.
“I have been studying Economics at Cranford for four years now and it is without a doubt my favourite A-Level subject. Economics is such a useful subject to study as it gives insights into how the world works and I think that everyone should get the chance to study the basic concepts of Economics at school. In my opinion, A-Level Economics lessons have been extremely wellstructured and tailored to students’ needs. Every lesson sees us provided with useful recourses that aid us in further our understanding of the topics learnt in lessons. Overall, I highly encourage those interested in persuing Economics in future to consider choosing it as one of their A-Levels”.
A range of resources are made available to the students on Ms Teams to assist them to extend and, strengthen their knowledge and skills outside lessons. As a part of their curriculum, the students are taught essential skills such as analysing and interpreting data for the purpose of evaluating the implications of specific individual and government activities. Furthermore, students build upon their quantitative skills and learn how to use diagrammatic analysis to support their findings on the UK economy as well as the wider world.
Economics at Cranford 2021-2022 70 ECONOMICS
“Economics has been amazing! Having not studied Economics at GCSE, choosing it as one of my A level subjects was a risk worth-taking. Over the course of two years, Economics taught me a lot about various markets and the policies the UK government has to implement to tackle major economic issues such as poverty, inequality, inflation and sluggish economic growth. The resources have been phenomenal, and they have been extremely helpful to understand the content as well as the exam skills. It has been a pleasure learning Economics and would definitely recommend students to choose it as an A level option due to the immense support provided by the department as well as how fascinating the subject is”. Guneet Dhameja (year 13)
Ramanpreet Kaur (Head of Economics Department)
Tanishka Bumrah (year 12)
The Year 12 Economics class had an opportunity to enhance their presentation, leadership and debating skills by participating in a mock Model United Nations. The students were assigned in pairs to be delegates of a country. Some countries comprised of the permanent members of UN Security Council and understood their role on the global stage. The issues were aligned to their understanding of the economics specification, which included key issues such as economic growth, inequality and environmental impact. It also brought the contemporary issues faced such as the inflation crisis, a post-pandemic recession and the conflict in Ukraine. Each delegate had to represent their own nations vested interest on stage but also provide a convincing argument/solution that appealed to the majority of the delegates.
Alham Ahmad (Maths & Economics Teacher)
Shaan Cheema (year 12)
The Model United Nations was a highly engaging experience. As a class we assumed roles as national ambassadors to debate and solve global issues. I represented India and through research I was able to learn a lot more about India’s current economic state and policies being used to tackle pressing problems. We discussed how each country being represented has dealt with the coronavirus pandemic, matters of trade and security, environment, socio-economic factors and much more. The discussions transformed into intensive debates which enabled us to practise our speaking and communication skills. Overall, this was an incredible learning experience for the class, as we learnt about international relations and ongoing issues amongst the United Nations by actively taking part.
Mock Model United Nations
Heenal Mehra (year 12)
Taking part in the Model United Nations allowed me to gain perspective into different countries within and outside the UN and understanding how trading, environment problems, political and regional stability works. I took the role of a Turkish ambassador and debated multiple issues and policies regarding the socioeconomic problems and more recently of Covid-19, with countries across the world who have different interests. We also considered current affairs and recent politics for example the Russia and Ukraine conflict.
Whilst participating in the mock Model UN, I had been assigned as a representative of China. This was a daunting task, as several points of discussion were based on social welfare and equality. Being told to systematically argue policies I fundamentally disagreed with improved my debating skills, however, being a delegate of arguably the second most powerful country in the world also had its upsides. In the topics of trade and defence I was able to use my economics knowledge to understand where to strengthen the Chinese economy and how to create sustainable and beneficial links to solve economic issues. The entire experience was extremely engaging and insightful.
71 ECONOMICS
A trip to the Bank of England Museum was organised for our year 12 Economics students in July 2022. It aimed at developing insight into the history of the Bank of England and what the Bank does to keep inflation low, maintain trust in its banknotes and keep the financial system stable. Our students had a fantastic opportunity to witness a wide-ranging collection detailing the Bank’s history from its foundation in 1694 to the present day. As we entered the site, everyone was so enthusiastic to attempt a game called ‘take the helm’ where they could experience the difficult task of maintaining inflation at 2% target and the problems the economy may face whilst controlling inflation alongside ensuring economic growth does not suffer. It was an exhilarating experience for our students to be able to hold a genuine gold bar from within its box. The value of the gold bar is updated each day and displayed alongside the bar. Students were captivated to see collection over 40,000 items including archaeology, banknotes, coins, oil paintings, sculpture and decorative art. Furthermore, they explored the history of transatlantic slavery through its connections with the Bank of England and the wider City of London. A range of interesting displays helped our young economists to understand that apart from the traditional tool of interest rate, the Bank makes use of forward guidance and quantitative easing as a part of monetary policy to maintain financial stability in the economy. Students were provided with engaging activity pack designed to explore the Museum whilst learning the role of the Bank. Overall, our year 12 students found this trip immensely beneficial and said it left them inquisitive to discover and learn more about monetary policy and macro-economics in general.
“As part of my A-Level Economics course I had an opportunity to visit the Bank of England’s Museum in Summer 2022. Located within the Bank’s main building itself, this moderately sized museum was filled to the brim with artefacts and information regarding the Bank, as well as its role in the United Kingdom economy. Exhibits ranged from artefacts depicting the foundation of the Bank in 1694 to a recent exhibition highlighting the relation of the Bank to slavery over the course of time with a display on counterfeit currency. Overall, I found the Museum fascinating, leaving me keen to discover more about the history of economics in the UK”.
Ramanpreet Kaur (Head of Economics)
Sukhpreet Bual (year 12)
“The Bank of England trip has been an enriching experience that has enabled me to develop my understanding of the Bank of England’s role in achieving monetary and financial stability. The trip involved fun activities on investigating the function of the monetary policy in maintaining a stable inflation rate of 2%. There was also another activity where I was able to lift a real gold bar. The display gave a fascinating insight on the Bank of England’s history such as on old bank notes and coins, early investors of the Bank and the evolution of the Bank’s architecture. The trip also gave an overview of the history of the economy portrayed through mosaics and various ornaments dating back to the 1700’s. Ultimately the opportunity of being able to visit the Bank of England is a great memory and has immensely aided my understanding of Economics”.
Year 12 Trip to the Bank of England Museum 72
Daniel Ortega (year 12)
Uthistan Sritharan (year 12)
“The Bank of England Museum trip was extremely useful. It helped me to learn the history of the Bank and how it evolved over the years. Seeing the first denominated banknote issued by the Bank was probably my favourite part of the trip. It was quite interesting to see how handwritten notes changed into printed polymer. I am glad that I was able to be a part of this trip. Overall, I found this trip productive and it definitely will help me to understand my A Level Economics content better as I have had first-hand experience”.
ECONOMICS
“Our trip to the Bank of England was a fantastic experience which was greatly enjoyed by the whole class. It was a lovely day where we were all able to apply our knowledge of Economics to a variety of different activities located all around the museum. We were all able to learn about the history of Economics which was extremely interesting and see its application in real life. Thanks to Mr Ahmad, Mr Nassari and Ms Field we were able to enjoy such a fun day out with the class”.
In March 2022, we were lucky enough to welcome Simon Kirby – a senior economist in the Monetary Analysis Directorate to Cranford. The Year 13s were very enthusiastic witnessing a prominent member of the Bank at Cranford, discussing the various topics that they have learnt in class, as well as learning more about the role of the Bank. This included how the Bank ensures that banknotes are difficult to forge, the various policies necessary to combat the inflation crisis we are currently facing and how this mission has been the same for the past 300 years. We also saw how the Bank of England handles over £600 billion transactions in a day and
Alham Ahmad (Economics & Maths Teacher)
73 ECONOMICS
Karolina Mucko (year 13)
how they store over 400,000 gold bars in its vault, worth £100 billion. The enthusiastic and curious mindset that the students displayed saw us privileged enough to have another guest speaker – Michael Lever – to share a similar talk to the Year 12s.
The Year 13 class were surprised with a visit to the Bank of England after Easter. The students were able to witness first-hand how difficult it is to control inflation, despite having the initial presumption that this can be simply remedied through adjusting the interest rate. We also glimpsed into economic history, seeing how the Bank of England has modernised itself over time with the changing of banknotes, security behind the gold bar vaults (which is a lot more secure than what is seen in ‘Money Heist’) and also facilitating the growing use of contactless payment. Ending the day on a beautiful sunny Friday afternoon was an excellent way of saying farewell to this amazing Year 13 class.
With the recession caused by the pandemic and the subsequent inflation crisis, economic theory has started to revolve more around our everyday lives. The field of monetary policy in particular looks at how the central bank (Bank of England) regulates the entire macroeconomy by adjusting the interest rate and supply of money to maintain price stability and foster economic growth.
Trip
Year 13 Bank of England
Ramanpreet Kaur (Head of Economics Department)
Overall, our year 12 students were delighted and enthused to be able to attend this talk and found it highly productive.
I attended a talk by a former Cranford, Adil Awan, who is currently on an apprenticeship scheme at KPMG. It really helped to collect information on various career options available to take up after sixth form. Adil gave us an insight into his life as an apprentice at KPMG, how he manages his time between working and having to study for the course, and his social life. I learnt that one of the main benefits of being an apprentice is gaining valuable work experience while studying and not having to pay off any debts. I found this session extremely helpful in choosing my future career path as it is always a dilemma whether to choose university or apprenticeship.
Michael very kindly shared his story of working at the Bank in a wide range of roles. The talk was interactive and students were able to learn ways to become a part of the Bank at all different stages such as level 4 apprenticeship, internships, industrial placements and graduate development programmes.
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The session covered a range of areas such as the application process for university and apprenticeship, interviews, managing money, organising workload, and course structure. The students came prepared with numerous interesting questions and displayed immense enthusiasm throughout the session. They found the advice and information gathered in this session highly beneficial in preparation for the UCAS application process.
To prepare students with their next phase of learning, the Economics department invited former student Adil Awan to have an interactive session with year 12 students. The session aimed at enhancing students’ understanding of careers/ apprenticeship programmes in Economics and how to prepare for those opportunities. After all, who knows better what a university or a course is like than someone who is actually there at the moment?
“It was a great privilege to have the opportunity to attend a talk by the Bank of AmbassadorEnglandMichael Lever. He spoke on interesting topics such as interest rates, cryptocurrency and quantitative easing. It was an immensely insightful experience. I developed an understanding on how the Bank works and the way it operates within the economy. I was so inspired by his work ethic and the level of success he achieved at such a young age, which gave me huge motivation and inspired me to persue Economics at university. I am extremely pleased that I was able to be a part of this talk – it has encouraged me to explore Economics at a much deeper level”. Singh 12)
Ramanpreet Kaur (Head of Economics Department)
Muskaan Kaur Sanghera (year 12)
ECONOMICS
In summer 2022, our year 12 Economics cohort had an excellent opportunity to attend a talk at Cranford on ‘Economics in Practice’ by the Bank of England Ambassador Michael Lever. Michael is a policy adviser in Independent Evaluation Office at the Bank. He delivered an engaging presentation on the role of Bank of England in maintaining financial stability in the UK. As a part of their A level Economics curriculum, students explored the functions of the Bank with a brief insight into its history. It was quite intriguing for our students to discover how a small change in interest rates can impact our day-to-day spending, mortgages, business investment, inflation, jobs, growth and many more areas in the economy. Michael touched upon the current economic situation where by the UK economy is facing substantially high inflation, rising energy costs, low growth, and rising interest rates in the past few months. Students asked about the challenges presented by use of cryptocurrency in the modern world and the need for regulation by the Bank to manage this highly volatile market. Our year 12 students learnt that the Bank is not only an influential organisation but it is also a uniquely rewarding place to develop a career. This talk could not have come at a better time as straight after the talk year 12 students made a start with their UCAS application process.
Shritu
(year
Future focus session with Adil Awan former student & KPMG apprentice Bank of England Ambassador: Talk on ‘Economics in Practice’
Over the course of June and July you may have seen some slightly frazzled students dashing straight from their lessons after school on a Monday, not out of school, but straight into the B Block. This was not a feat of madness but instead an act of sacrifice in the name of creativity.
20222021 An Anthology in the Making 75 STORYFIRST
Veronica Chow (First Story Lead Teacher)
The dizzy and out of breath students arrived at CR4 for a prompt 1515 start to their First Story sessions. This year the First Story Programme ran slightly differently to previous years, wherein students only had 8 weeks of workshops to perfect their final anthology pieces. We were grateful to be joined there by our resident author Adam Z Robinson who brought brilliant creativity to every session, inspiring the students at every turn and encouraging them to throw every literary rule book out of the window (much to the joy of those who had promptly forgotten every piece of knowledge from their English lessons…). The students bounced off of each other’s energy from the get go, creating a vibrant, and enthusiastic space that fostered their ideas and budding confidence. It lent just the right amount of creative ingenuity to help us reach our anthology title “Three novels and a Poem walk into a bar…”. This title, although non-conventional, perfectly exemplifies the range of creative ideas that we had in the room and the wonderful ways in which the students stepped beyond the boundaries of language. We’ve had many creative styles and a broad range of ideas from monks in strange towers to poetry evocative of the dirtiest Hounslow Highstreet. With an eclectic mix of year 10 and year 12 students representing a wide range of interests, this might seem inevitable but took a lot of bravery on the part of the students. They boldly shared works every session and the work we witnessed over the course of the weeks has been exceptional and has often left each other in awe and admiration. I’m sure if you ever walked past you were never more than two steps away from hearing thunderous applause. They took on prompts such as “write a story set in a supermarket without using vowels” with great gusto and I promise you it is a difficult as it sounds. To add to the natural success of the writers, we also had two entries to the EcoPoetry competition from Cammeron Jones and Nikola Szczawinska who swept the podium and won first and third place respectively. It has been an honour to see these students grow alongside each other and it has been a greater honour to listen to the writing that they have shared. I cannot wait to see where their writing takes them and look forward to the next cohort – hopefully with some returning faces. If they do not, I hope they will remember the message that every single voice and idea mattered. It serves as a valuable reminder of the values that we hold at Cranford. With thanks to the English team who encouraged these students to participate to also to Mr Ind and Mr Prunty who ensure that these opportunities never die down for the students. The longevity and success of the First Story Programme at Cranford despite the many challenges that have been thrown into the mix stands only as a testament to the dedication the school has to student Foropportunities.thosewho are already itching to read some of the spectacular pieces of this year’s anthology I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until the Autumn for the big reveal when we have our celebration evening. For now, please fill your appetite with some samples of writing and the fantastic EcoPoetry entries. Until next time!
Encouraging and supporting our students to help them succeed is our priority and we are excited to see the results of their hard work this Summer.
Stefan Mishlinkov (year 13)
This year the Business Studies Department has been very exciting! We are a popular choice of study at GCSE and for our 6th form students, and we were pleased to welcome a new teacher, Mr Lloyd, to the team. Students have achieved excellent results in their studies with many on track to gain top grades in their A Level and BTEC courses which we hope will secure them places on a range of Businessrelated courses at university and in the world of work. As a department we have focused on developing world class assessment, tracking and feedback procedures, led by Mr Ryan, and were delighted to showcase our methods to other departments to share good practice.
Cranford
Business Studies Department 2021-2022
76 STUDIESBUSINESS
BTEC Business Charity Event at
Gurpreet Patel (Head of Business Studies Department)
On Friday 25th March 2022 a charity fundraiser was held by the Year 13 BTEC students, the proceeds of which went to Heston West Big Local. Students set out with the expectation of raising £300 for their chosen charity, a target which was exceeded by 15%. Heston West Big Local is a not-for-profit organisation which focus their efforts on the Hounslow area and do their best to make it a happier and healthier borough of London, and one in which people are proud to Comingreside.up to the event the BTEC students had put countless hours of work to ensure that every part of the event was a success. The saying “Measure twice, cut once” was at its truest form when it came to the event preparation. Every element was risk assessed including the time taken to set up before break and even how profitable things would be once the event got going. On the day things couldn’t have gone better in any conceivable way. Stalls were selling their games and products, attendees were orderly, chaos was kept to a minimum and lastly, all of the litter was picked up as quickly as it was dropped and everything was put away allowing for students to return to their lessons. This did not go unnoticed with Mr Fraser stating that “the concourse was spotless” and “it didn’t look like an event had taken place at all”. Overall, this day just goes to show how a small group of organised and motivated individuals can make amazing things happen.
Gurshaan Ghattoray (year 13 - Charities Committee)
MACMILLAN CHARITY EVENT (CANCER SUPPORT) • Enjoy cookies, cakes, cupcakes, donuts and samosas and help contribute donations towards Macmillan Cancer Support! • This year we would like to ask students and staff to help with the food donations and ask them to contribute to the event • Can all sweet donations please be given at the school shop by this Wednesday (13th) and please make sure that the sweet treats/pastries are in date to be sold for Thursday 14th Oct Thursday 14th OctoberBreak20211 On the Concourse Sweet treats you can donate and buy from the charity event: AndPakorasDonutsCupcakesCakeCookiesslicesothersweet pastries 77 CHARITY
Sixth
On Thursday 14th October 2021, the Charities Committee organised and ran a charity event in support for the Macmillan Charity. The Charities Committee was keen to support and donate to Macmillan Cancer Support as it was already cancer awareness month. This year we asked students and staff to contribute to the event by donating sweet treats to help raise money. During the event, different kinds of food were sold to raise money including sweet pastries, cookies, donuts, cakes, cupcakes and pakoras which sold out in minutes. The Charities Committee set a goal of raising just over £200, but thanks to the combined efforts of students and staff from across the school, we were able to exceed that goal and raise just over £600 ! The money raised should help fund the charity in helping and supporting people with cancer by providing emotional, physical and financial support to enable those who have been diagnosed with cancer get through such a difficult time. We would like to thank all students and staff at Cranford who helped support the charity event and raised such a huge amount of money from donations.
CharityMacmillanFormCancerCakeSale
(year
We wanted to say a huge thank you to all the pupils, parents and staff at Cranford Community College for the very generous Foodbank donations you collected and delivered to us before half term. The Foodbank team greatly appreciates the school’s encouraging support for the work we do with local people and families experiencing financial hardship. During the course of 2021, the Foodbanks at our St Paul’s and Good Shepherd locations supplied enough food to feed over 13,500 adults and children (as well as providing toiletries and hygiene products) – an increase of over 80% compared to the previous year. We simply would not have been able to continue providing such a high level of support to so many vulnerable people without the very generous donations we continue to receive from schools, churches, businesses and individuals within our local community.
With our thanks and very best wishes, A Avril Gearing Avril T:EFoodbankGearingCoordinator:foodbank@hopehounslow.org.uk07763083049
8th June 2022 Dear Julie
Charity No: 1164343 | Place of Registration: England Hope Church Hounslow C/O Bath Road, Hounslow West, TW3 3DA www.hopehounslow.org.uk | T: 020 8581 5537 Vicarage | T: 020 8707 4092 | info@hopehounslow.org.uk
Sixth Form Food Bank Collections
In February the charities committee decided to organise and set up a food bank in the school whereby all students and staff were encouraged to donate at least one non-perishable item towards the food bank. The charities committee set up a “food bank station” where any student or staff member may donate any necessary items. The food bank which the committee chose to donate to was the ‘St Paul’s Hounslow West Foodbank’. The charities committee decided to do this in part because of the rise in the cost of living and food prices (due to inflation), and we believed that a food bank would be one of the best ways to assist the less fortunate and those who have been disproportionately affected by the costof-living increase. The covid pandemic had also made living conditions worse for some households, thus our food bank will hopefully reduce the stress of people who cannot afford basic food and toiletries. This food bank was a success because we were able to collect a large number of donations from both students and staff across the school (enough to fill the school minibus!). I would like to say a great thank you to all those who donated and well done for making a positive contribution to our local community. Ghattoray 13 - Charities Committee)
Gurshaan
DONATIONS TO THE FOODBANK AT HOPE CHURCH
78 CHARITY
Emma Macrae (Scottish Civil Service)
SAfEE Qualifications
Year 12 - Aspirations Day
Stalking Awareness for Education Environments / Course Lead BSc Criminology and Sociology) 79 CAREERS
Rhiannon Evans (Learning & Outreach Manager London’s Air Ambulance Charity)
An important aspect of this event was ensuring that there was something for everybody and we were lucky enough to have a range of professionals from different industries attend Cranford to provide an insight to their careers and the pathways they took to achieve their ambitions. Sharon Blyfield from Coka-Cola gave an interactive presentation on how best to prepare for interviews and creating an effective CV. Mustafa Omar from Metro Bank talked about Fraud – The Silent Victim + Think Like A Banker, Lend Like One and Nick Nanikhan gave students a much needed understanding of student finance.
Thanks for having me this morning, I really enjoyed getting the chance to speak to your students. I hope the students found the presentation useful.
It was good to see you today. Just wanted to thank you for the opportunity to come in and speak to the some of the kids, they had some really great questions.
Sharandeep Saroya (Assistant Headteacher)
Cranford has always been proud of the relationships we maintain with our Alumni and it was great to welcome back Warda Khalid and Faisa Ali who delivered a talk on the Oxbridge Experience and Pariksit Dogra provided an insight to his career at KPMG. Our students found the ‘real talk’ from our alumni extremely Studentsinsightful.came away from the day feeling that they had been given a truly valuable and insightful experience and our guests all commented on how respectful Cranford students are.
T uesday 19th July 2022 will be remembered as the day the UK heat record was broken with temperatures soaring to 40.3C, but this sweltering day was also significant for our Year 12 students at Cranford as they had the privilege of attending a range of talks from 34 guest speakers throughout the day to raise their aspirations. We had academics from Middlesex University, University College West London, St Marys University, Brunel University, Kingston University, University of Hertfordshire and Roehampton University delivering taster lectures in a range of different subjects from Criminology to Aerospace Engineering to give our students an insight to studying these courses at university.
Thanks so much for your help with the sessions today. Everyone I met was so friendly and kind, I was also really impressed with your students. You have a great school!
Pariksit Dogra (ex-student KPMG)
Dr Maria (AssociateMellinsProfessor /
Thank you for the warm welcome at Cranford this morning and for the invitation to take part in Aspirations Day. I really enjoyed meeting the students and answering their questions. I’d be very happy to come back to the school again so please do let me know about future events where we can contribute.
The heart of any Performing Arts curriculum is the ability to innovate and inspire young people. The creative process is essential in giving ownership to a story they want to tell. Our biggest project, scheduled for July 2022 was the school production, developed throughout the academic year during Mind, Body Soul, was one such project. “OverRuled” was a story developed entirely through students’ discussion, music and lyric writing, improvisation and reflection, inspired by how the past two years had impacted on their lives and how they see their future. They wanted to examine through theatre and music what really matters to them; the world agenda of globalization and ecology and the way the post pandemic “new world” now viewed life.
At the start of the academic year there were still a number covid restrictions in place. Mask wearing, keeping distance and sanitizing were still creating challenges for practical work but undeterred, everyone tried to carry on developing drama and music as best they could. Relaxation of these requirements in late September freed us up to really drive the organic process and an air of excitement was clearly felt, not only in the taught curriculum but in the extra-curricular projects.
This was an extraordinary piece of theatre and so well received by its audience. Its contents and relevance were scarily accurate in its messages and warnings giving many of us food for thought.
For the spring term performance, we were rehearsing for the Shakespeare in Schools Festival 2022. We chose to perform “The Tempest” and seventeen year 8 and 9 students undertook the project during Mind, Body, Soul. The group, having spent most of their rehearsal time engaging with the language and learning lines during the early autumn term, began to experiment with possible practical ideas for bringing the text to life. This was incredibly exciting as what had been a discussion about “what if” became “let’s try this ….” including inventing different ways to make an umbrella a ship, a disguise or Prospero’s magic staff. This was an exciting challenge as none of the cast had ever been involved with a production before, but supported by Ms Rae to bring Shakespeare’s play from page to stage performing first, on a professional stage at the Beck Theatre in Hayes and then to a school audience of staff and students at Cranford.
Jessica Joyce (Head of Performing Arts Department)
S eptember 2021; A new academic year, a new term and a new determination to get back to doing what we do best in Performing Arts and that is giving students the opportunity to be creative, innovative and have fun, working practically in Music and Drama. After eighteen months of limited participation in the arts, we were determined that the new year would bring new opportunities and that these opportunities would include performances in and out of school and much needed theatre visits to inspire creativity. To achieve this, we planned to have a showcase performance each term to celebrate the amazing talent of Cranford students.
In addition to all the exciting curriculum and extra -curricular opportunities, we were delighted to be able to visit live theatre again in support of the Drama and Theatre Craft curriculum. All these productions helped to inspire an understanding and appreciation of the non-performance elements when putting on a production. Students were able to take ideas and use them in their own work in set, lighting, sound and costume design.
For the autumn term we planned Cranfest 2021, a concert in celebration of music talent across the school. This would be the first concert since 2019 and the music department became a hive of activity, just as it had been prior to the pandemic. With the RSL music course now firmly established in key stages 4 and 5, younger students were mentored and supported by older students in learning instruments and songs, resulting in some extraordinary crossphase musicianship. In addition, Mr Daplyn worked with a group of year 9 boys on an original studio performance entitled “BadTimes Stories” a piece of devised, dystopian theatre. The plot evolved around the discovery of a story book buried under rubble at a waste tip and a group of young boys reading and learning from these stories of the past.
Looking back over the past year it is quite amazing what has been achieved. It is this determination and love of the performing arts that continues to engage young people in the desire to participate in performances and learn from industry professionals. They love the buzz they get from being part of a group, a company or a technical team and they get such a sense of achievement when they hear the applause and the words of acknowledgement from their families, friends and teachers. Even the shyest of young people can be transformed by this experience and that is why we will continue to do what we do best in Performing Arts and make it possible for young people to take part in exciting and creative projects.
Getting back to doing what we do best ! Performing Arts 2021-2022 80 ARTSPERFORMING
Deen Asskoumi (year 9) 81 ARTSPERFORMING
BadTime Stories In September 2021 a small group of year 9 boys approached the Performing Arts Department with the idea of doing a studio performance in the autumn term. I was keen to work with this young team of enthusiasts and workshopped some initial ideas after school in the Drama Studio. After a relatively short time the boys had come up with a framework for the drama which once agreed generated some enthusiastic improvisations and discussion. This resulted in the title, “BadTime Stories”, a cautionary tale about the value of folklore, and the danger of ignoring the wisdom it contains. It was clear from the outset the past two years had a significant impact on the boys individually and as a group. As their confidence grew, they took the opportunity to reflect on their own circumstances and experiences during the pandemic and thought about how their lives had been diminished by the “loss “of various things they had previously taken for granted. This led to the idea of the setting with thought of how life might be if there were no stories to tell and pass on through generations…. a world without stories. We researched various folklore stories from different cultures to find ones that would be good to translate into a visual representation alongside the story telling. Each story had a moral and helped to bring the whole piece together. The performance took place over two nights in early December 2021 to a small studio audience. I and the boys were enormously proud of the finished project and feel they have learnt so much about theatre, the value of storytelling and themselves through this process.
Tom Daplyn (Director - Performing Arts Department)
Creating “BadTime Stories” was an amazing experience! I learned a lot about costume and set design throughout my time working on this production. Some students are reluctant to stay after school but for me rehearsing felt less of a chore and more of privilege. One main reason for this was how much input and freedom Mr Daplyn allowed us to have with staging, acting and scriptwriting. It allowed us to relate and represent the characters we portrayed in a more natural way. This was such a delight to perform and with the cast being good friends of mine, it was a very comfortable and open setting to express yourself. We had an amazing cast of actors including Lakshay Mehra, Brandon Coleman, Koa Cundall, Balveen Sodi and me with Khadar Abdullai behind the scenes creating the wonderful stage and world around us but we cannot forget our director and scriptwriter, Mr Daplyn and Mr Ramsden for doing all the tech.
Luke (HeadJoyceofMusic Department) 82
Having an end of term concert as a goal always makes for a very busy autumn term, but which confirms the joy of music making in the school. Weeks of rehearsals during period 0 and period 6 alongside breaks 1 and 2 and any spare time in between saw the buzz of previous years return to the Music Department. It was really exciting watching younger students learn from older students (and at times vice versa), gel together in newly formed bands and to see confidence grow as they tackled a range of songs old and new, some original compositions, others old favourites and even some in different languages. An exciting and varied programme began to be developed as we moved towards December and our proposed performance date. Ticket sales were going well and even sold out much to the disappointment of the Last minute.com Cranford students. Everything was going to plan when the dreaded Covid struck, and it looked like what the students had worked so hard for would be lost. Fortunately, Kevin Prunty, Executive Headteacher, was also determined that the concert should go ahead and so with strict covid rules in place and a very supportive audience of parents, students, and staff, Cranfest 21 took place on Tuesday 14th December 2021. From bhangra to blues and rapping to soul, the Concert Hall “rocked”! It was such a great evening of celebration and the audience were clearly blown away by the variety of music performed. We are incredibly proud of what our students have achieved and delighted we were able to share this wonderful evening with everyone. Bring on Cranfest 2022!
In 2019 we held our first Cranfest which was hugely successful. With the two-year absence of music making at Cranford we were determined to reignite the students with the promise of a Cranfest 2021 to bring back all the good things we do in music and celebrate a thriving department and our talented music students. We were keen to involve students from all year groups and were delighted with how many in year 8 -13 wanted to take part. We were also delighted to find so many talented year 7 students who showed great promise and wanted to get Cranfestinvolved.isa celebration of music from a variety of genres and the development of the music curriculum at Cranford over the past five years. Our approach is student centred encouraging young people to take up an instrument and to learn to play and perform.
ARTSPERFORMING
ARTSPERFORMING
“AMAZING!!!!! Cranford has got talent. An incredible evening and I am so pleased that I was persuaded to go. Well done everyone” Dawn Knock (SEND Department)
“Last night was such a delight. I think staff and visitors alike really enjoyed themselves. The performances were amazing and I, for certain, had a few tears in my eyes at times. I am so proud of all our superstars”.
“The quality of the performances was of a very high standard. Luke and Rory have done an amazing job with the students. One of the best performances I have been to with representation from all key stages. Parents/audience reaction was very positive and the comments as they exited confirmed this”.
Shawn DeSouza (Assistant Headteacher)
Thank you for all for the hard work. Who needs Wembley Arena or the O2 when you have the Concert Hall?”
Sabine Geister (Three Bridges)
“What an amazing job you all did in organising Cranfest – it was so well put together and organised. Also a massive thank you as well – opportunities like this have been thin on the ground due to Covid and so this would have been even more of a monumental effort than normal to put together. The year 10’s in particular are crying out for ways to express themselves and I know they are grateful for the opportunity – it has done them the world of good.
Bradley King (Head of Year 10) 83
“The opportunity the school has given me was amazing to experience. I got the chance to play Ariel in ‘The Tempest’. Playing Ariel was the best experience ever since I got to dress her how I wanted and make sure the attitude was suitable for her. Ariel was a pleasure to play because she matched my personality in real life, so acting her was easy and fun. Ariel was able to show her power and confidence. It was a fun experience because we got to choose our costumes. Rehearsing was tiring but worth it since we managed to learn our lines and be confident with them. Performing at the Beck Theatre was amazing, and we were encouraged by our teachers. I recommend this experience to anyone because it’s fun and unforgettable. The cast was amazing and the directors were helpful and nice”.
The cast and student directors used ensemble theatre techniques to create shipwrecks, caves and the mysterious island where the action takes place using only umbrellas and minimal costume.
“The Tempest” C ranford Performing Arts team were delighted to be a part of the live Shakespeare in Schools Festival again this year. Our students took on “The Tempest”, Shakespeare’s comedic story of magic, betrayal, romance and power, with performances in the professional space at The Beck Theatre Hayes and at Cranford.
The joy of the performance was nerve racking for us all but we all had excitement packed inside of us. The dress rehearsals were my favourite as we were all excited getting dressed into our costumes. Then we had a briefing which was exciting because we had a full view of the stage. It was a memory I’ll never forget. Then after the briefing we played some games outside. The fountains were beautiful, and the weather was perfect. When it was finally our chance to perform, I felt a wave of confidence. I thought to myself, “This is my time to shine” and I managed the stage very well. I was very grateful for this experience, and I’d do it a thousand times more”.
“The experience was amazing as a whole. This included the rehearsals, the play, the costumes, and the people we worked with. The rehearsals were a joy because I got to meet the wonderful cast, enjoy myself and memorise lines. I loved the relationships and friendships that I built. Everyone is kind and we learned to accept one another.
Shakespeare In Schools Festival 2022
Bianca Briceag (year 9 - Ariel)
Hajir Shuweikh (year 9 - Student Director)
Laura Rae (Drama Teacher and SSF Director)
“I have been rehearsing “The Tempest” since September so for about 7 months. From the MBS sessions, to after school it has been so much fun working with Ms Rae and the cast. This play has helped me talk to people I would never have talked to. It has opened new opportunities for me such as the school production”. Laaibah Baig (year 8 - Stephano)
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In the few short months of weekly rehearsals, the cast took real ownership over the story and language of the play, with the festival director commenting on how natural and conversational their delivery of the text was. I was incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication of the cast and student directors; the quality of the performance and the joyful rehearsal process were a credit to them and to the school.
Minah Shirzad (year 8 -Trinculo)
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“I acted in a few of the scenes. I also directed the scenes. The actors were very cooperative. I enjoyed building a bond with everyone”.
“It was fun, the directors and actors were all very nice, the room to practice in was spacious and I made many new friends. The travel to Beck Theatre was a whole different and fun experience. I’m so glad a took part”. Kal-El Muhammad (year 8 – Caliban)
CollegeCommunityCranford
Cranford
I would like to send my sincerest congratulations to Cranford Community College for your wonderful production of The Tempest as part of the Spring 22 Shakespeare Schools Festival. It was a brilliant evening of theatre, and I’d like to talk about a few elements that really shone. This was a creative and inventive production of The Tempest that gave the audience a thrilling example of how theatre can transport the audience into the world of a play. We were immediately drawn in through clever use of clear umbrellas. From being spun as stormy waves, held as weapons by those shipwrecked on the island, covering Caliban as his cave and having the handles form a loveheart to highlight Miranda and Ferdinand’s partnership (an unforgettable moment!), the cast handled these props brilliantly. It was delightful to hear how they came up with ideas themselves, such as the umbrellas being pulled away and dropped from the hands of Prospero’s rivals at the wave of Ariel’s wand.
There were lovely hypnotic moments in this performance, which were wonderfully enhanced by live sound. The winding and whirring effect that, along with whispers from the ensemble, seemed to come from nowhere was really effective This was a refreshing interpretation of the magic on the ‘isle full of noises,’ and it worked so well because the cast were fully committed and invested. Reactions from the ensemble were wonderfully played to maximise the impact of the action It was great to see everyone having so much fun with these moments! The physicality of characters was very strong and this was well balanced with a conversational quality to the dialogue. The cast demonstrated a high level of ownership over and belief in their Congratulationscharacters. to a playful cast who performed a Tempest which truly transfixed the audience and transformed the stage! Staging a Shakespeare play in these changing times takes extra courage, tenacity, and creativity. You should be incredibly proud of what you and your teachers have achieved. I hope to see Cranford Community College in the next Festival! VVikki Walsh “a Tempest which truly transfixed the audience and transformed the stage!” Community College
Zakariye Galadid (year 8 – Alonso)
Samuele Suman (year 8 -Gonzalo/Boatswain)
“So, throughout the Mind, Body and Soul lessons I had so much fun rehearsing and doing the starter games. Playing ‘Boatswain and Gonzala’ and ‘Spirit’ was really fun because all the lines were amazing.”
Cast List: Prospero Ashaaz Maredia Ariel – Bianca Briceag Caliban – Kal-El Muhammad Ferdinand – Khalil Yusuf Sebastian – Koa Cundall Stephano – Laaibah Baig Miranda – Marina Mocanu Trinculo – Minah Shirzad Antonio – Zaqee Rakhda Alonso – Zakariye Galadid Gonzalo/ Boatswain – Samuele Suman 85
“What I enjoyed was that when we got to the theatre, there were different schools there and I made new friends. I was very nervous when it was us going on stage, but still I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone I know”.
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“I played Miranda and I enjoyed playing her a lot. I also enjoyed doing a play with this group of people and would like to work with them again. I had a big part in choosing my character’s outfit and the meaning behind the colours and type of clothing. Eg: flowy clothes = elegance + being on an island, black = sadness & anger & depression, Blue & pink = link to my father, white = my marriage to Ferdinand. I loved working at the Beck Theatre and doing the Tempest and the Shakespeare in Schools Festival. I’m grateful for the opportunity and I would love to do something like this again”.
TuesdayThePresentsTempest29thMarch2022
The Tempest by Cranford Community College at The The Beck Theatre 22nd March 2022 appraised by Vikki Walsh
“I really enjoyed helping direct. It was a suitable job for me. I think it also really helped the cast and helped bring the scenes together. I’d really recommend being a part of performing arts Shakespeare in Schools Festival. It was an amazing unforgettable experience”.
Khalil Yusuf (year 9 – Ferdinand) “I did the Tempest and I played Alonso. I liked how we had our own changing room and how nice the performers were. The Beck was big and it was scary to perform in front of a big audience”.
“O brave new world that has such people in’t … “ Twelve years have passed since Prospero, previously Duke of Milan, was wrongfully overthrown by his brother Antonio and Alonso, the King of Naples. When Prospero’s enemies sail by the island on which he and his daughter Miranda were shipwrecked, he conjures a storm. All are unharmed but Alonso and his son Ferdinand are separated in the chaos and assume each other dead. Anotonio persuades Sebastian to attempt to murder his own brother Alonso. This would make Sebastian King of Naples. Meanwhile two drunken servants called Stephano and Trinculo, conspire with Caliban, an island creature, to overthrow Prospero. With the help of Ariel, a spirit, Prospero brings all of these characters together as the story reaches its climax …
Nasra Hashi (year 9 - Student Director)
“We are such stuff as dreams are made on”
Marina Mocanu (year 9 – Miranda)
Tickets £3 Tickets on sale from the School Shop or via the school website Email: jpr@cranford.hounslow.sch.uk Community PresentsCollege
School“OverRuled”Production 2022 86 ARTSPERFORMING
Jessica Joyce (Head of Performing Arts Department)
Cranford
"What could link the ‘Treebels’ and the Government? Why would someone attack the Leader? And who will take the seat of Power? Everything is up for grabs in OVERRULED”. An original Musical Theatre Production Tuesday 5th, Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th July 2022 5.00pm To be held at Cranford Community College Concert Hall In September 2021, students in year 7, 8 & 9 embarked on a creative journey with the Performing Arts staff during Mind,Body,Soul, to devise an original piece of Musical Theatre to be performed at Cranford during the Summer Term This2022.year long project has involved students working in various production roles and was a completely original piece of theatre with all aspects created and performed by the students. This was our first School Production since 2019 and the first opportunity to share with a live audience in school. As with all creative journeys, its success was wholly dependent upon everyone involved giving their time, energy and commitment to see the project to its conclusion. In total more than 80+ students worked on this production. For most students this was their first experience of working on a project on this scale. It was a very organic process. Script writing evolved in tandem with the song lyrics and music with Mr Joyce and Mr O’Hare whilst student directors ran drama workshops to help develop the characters and scenes facilitated by Mr Daplyn and Ms McMahon. Behind the scenes design work developed on set and costumes as well as lighting with one student Khadhar Abdullai taking on the lighting design under the guidance of Mr Ramsden. To create a production in twelve months was quite achievement. Our production was entitled “OverRuled”. It grew from several discussions around the pandemic, the G7 summit on climate change and the past two years with lockdown. The students looked at the old world we lived in prior to lockdown, the “new normal” and considered “the what if?” They felt they wanted to examine the dystopian world idea and discovered many of the characters and situations felt all too real and familiar. The production was performed over three nights including a matinee performance to Year 5 Berkeley Academy children who questioned the cast about the ideas behind the story and were also very vocal in their agreement of the very important message the production gave. The feedback and response from the audience of parents, staff and students was unanimously positive. They were blown away by the quality of the production and everyone said the shows message gave them real food for thought.
“I was very impressed with the professional level of the production – smooth running with great use of video and sound, great staging, fabulous music and excellent acting! The students can be very proud of their achievement. Well done everyone!” Ally Manole (MWL Department) “I really like the way the stage protruded into the audience. The stage decoration was also very good. The Music was outstanding as always. I Really enjoyed the acting. Remembering all those lines and delivering it very well especially the main characters. I was very impressed that the students wrote the whole thing themselves”.
“This year’s production of “OverRuled” was a student made show we started in September 2021, period 5 every Wednesday. I was involved from January when finding actors was introduced, which has led to me playing the glorious Prime Minster! Rehearsals were fun. The teachers where amazing throughout the whole thing. They really did help improve our acting!”
“I was a designer and actor. This was original and student made which is really good for everyone. It’s really been great to be part of it and I really enjoyed it. I would definitely do again”.it Brandon McFarlane (year 9)
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“I got to see the behind the scenes of everything. I’ve learnt a lot about directing and helping with the production. I would like to help with directing another play”.
Shawn D’Sousa (Assistant Headteacher)
“I absolutely loved seeing our student’s creativity come to life. I really felt quite emotional appreciating all the hard work that went into this wonderful production. To see so many of them take part and to see them in a different light just made it even more special. It was funny and moving and I enjoyed every second. Well done to everyone who played a part in this production from the crew to the cast”.
Harleen Bath (year 8)
Caitlin Arnold (Geography Department)
Barbara Lodge (Head of PSHCE Department)
Freddie Page (RE Department)
Amanjot Kaur Grewal (year 8)
Bianca Briceag (year 9)
“I was an Actor. The show was brilliant, and everyone was so friendly. I have learned to be more confident and have overcome stage fright. Yes, this was a wonderful experience”.
“Wow, what a thought provoking, poignant and engaging political drama devised entirely by Cranford students. What this group have achieved is truly momentous and the cast and crew should be proud of all they have achieved. The original music in this production stirred up so many emotions it was uplifting, enraging and heart-warming at different times to reflect the mood of the scenes”.
I have learnt how scripts are written and how songs can be incorporated. It has been an amazing experience I hope to have again”.
Synopsis: In a country not too different from our own a greedy government has broken and bullied the nation, tearing down the last remaining natural places to make space for their shiny new personal projects. When their latest actions force the environmental group the ‘Treebels’ out of hiding a seemingly unrelated attack on the Government sends the country into chaos. What could link the ‘Treebels’ and the Government? Why would someone attack the Leader? And who will take the seat of Power? Everything is up for grabs in OVERRULED”. 87
“I was a musician. I loved that this show was made by students. Working together makes things fun and it worked out perfectly. I would love to be in another show” Minah Shirzad (year 8)
“Overruled was excellent from start to finish, students clearly poured their heart and soul into their performance, and this was clear from their professionalism and passion in every aspect. I was blown away by the original music, innovative set design and confidence of the cast”.
Sharan Saroya (Assistant Headteacher)
“An engaging and creative work with an important message for the modern day. The performances, music and production were fantastic!”
“It has all been special. I was lucky enough to help write the script and perform. The music was also amazing.
Navjot Kaur Dhillon (year 7)
to also see how this works in a real theatre context and we were fortunate to take students in year 7-9 to three very different productions during the year. “Hex” at the National Theatre; “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” at the Duke of York Theatre and “A Monster Calls “at The Rose Theatre, Kingston. It is clear, theatre trips do make a difference an enrich learning.
But“OverRuled”.itisimportant
It was incredibly unbelievably amazing, awesome and it was like Sleeping Beauty. My favourite scene is the scene when Princess Rose was a baby when she starts crying with the King and Queen. My favourite character was Princess Rose because she was the second main character of ‘Hex’. I loved the theatre, the actors acting and the production. Khera (year 7)
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On Thursday 20th January 2022 we were delighted to take 30 year 7 students to the National Theatre on the Southbank to see a new musical “Hex”, an original musical based on the story of “Sleeping Beauty” with a modern twist which deals with themes including, trust, betrayal and forgiveness. This was a completely new experience for these students and a great introduction to live theatre and its possibilities for storytelling in an innovative way. Here are just some of the responses the students made to this experience: The show was an extraordinary, delightful and awesome experience. All of the scenes were my favourite, but if I had to pick one it would be when they re-united together because then they could be a happy family again. My favourite character would probably be the ogre or the fairy because they were really funny and were courageous/brave.
Gursimran
Theatre Trips to Enrich Learning
P erforming Arts is not just about performing it is about what goes on behind the scenes to make the whole performance come together. Part of our curriculum has been to develop a greater understanding of the technical elements of theatre through Theatre Craft. With the two refurbished Drama studios and the access to some high-tech equipment, we wanted to encourage students to know how to use this equipment and how design elements are an essential part of any production. Practical lessons became opportunities for hands on experiences using stage lighting and creating box sets or working on stage makeup and costume design and students were able to apply this learning to their own productions including the school production
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Jessica Joyce (Head of Performing Arts) “Hex” at the National Theatre
Sarah Springmann- Raib (year 7)
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“The Ocean at the End of the Lane” at The Duke of York Theatre
Arien Kaler (year 7)
Balveen Sodi (year 9 )
It was really fun and enjoyable time. Instead of just watching the play on a screen, the school took the time and effort for us to see it live. “A Monster Calls” was fantastic and is underrated for how clever all the things they did to make it real Deen Asskoumi (year 9)
This was a magical horror fiction story that a monster tries to enter our world. My favourite scene is when the boy was blocking his thoughts. Letti was the best character because she was the hero and saved the boy. My favourite part was when Ursula was first introduced because it was really suspenseful and showed the reason the whole play happened.
The A Monster Calls trip was an amazing reward. I remember first entering the theatre and it seemed quite small, but the cast used the stage perfectly. The lighting was amazing, it always had a perfect effect on the play creating an atmosphere and it gave you the chills at some points. I loved how it happened all in front of us in the same place, but it set a different atmosphere every time.
On Thursday 31st March 2022 20 year 8 and 9 students watched a Monster Calls at the Rose Theatre, Kingston. The play tells the story of Conor who is dealing with far more than other boys his age. His beloved and devoted mother is ill. He has little in common with his domineering grandmother. His father has resettled thousands of miles away. But Conor finds a most unlikely ally when the Monster appears at his bedroom window one night. Ancient, wild, and relentless, the Monster guides Conor on a journey of courage, faith, and truth that powerfully fuses imagination and reality. Again some of the students had either read the book or seen the film previously but they were really interested to see how the magical moments and the tree would be achieved on stage.
My favourite scene was when the flea controlled the dad and he tried to draw his son, it’s very spine-chilling. My favourite character is Lettie because her ‘ocean’ was breath-taking and her character was adventurous and brave. When the boy was obliged to stay in his lab circle because he was tempted by many deceiving people, that made the biggest impression on me.
On Thursday 24th February 2022 we took 30 very excited year 7 students to see “The Ocean at the End of the Lane”; at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London. The story tells of a man on returning to his childhood home, he finds himself standing beside the pond of the old Sussex farmhouse where he used to play. He’s transported to his 12th birthday when his friend Lettie claimed it wasn’t a pond, but an ocean…Plunged into a magical world, their survival depends on their ability to reckon with ancient forces that threaten to destroy everything around them. Some of the students had read the story previously and were excited to see how they would achieve all the magical aspects on stage. This is what they said: What a show! I loved When the hummingbirds appear and make the demons disappear. The little sister was really funny. I loved the tension and suspense and would use it in my work.
“A Monster Calls” at the Rose Theatre Kingston
Sulayman Hakeemi (year 7)
Melanie Khanal (year 7) 89
The DofE scheme helps participants develop leadership, teamwork, self-motivation, communication, confidence, consideration, and the ability to learn. Selected Year 9 students have been taking part on the DofE Bronze award since Sept 2021 during Mind body and Soul. The students have been learning key skills such as Map reading, country code, cooking, tent building, and first aid skills. All students have been completing 4 sections that are compulsory to complete the award either at school or in their spare time. The sections involve helping the community/environment, becoming fitter, developing new skills, planning, training for and completing an expedition. This has helped them to discover new interests and talents as well as developing essential skills and gaining a recognised qualification for life and work.
“The DofE experience might have been tough at some times, but it was a life-changing, adventurous experience. I believe the Duke of Edinburgh Award helps you along the path to a productive and prosperous is future”. Anisa Bilkhoo (year 9)
Duke of Edinburgh Scheme 2021-2022
On the 1st and 2nd July 2022 27 year 9 students embarked on their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award expedition to Chalfont Heights. Using all of their map reading, teamwork and navigation skills they tackled a challenging 24km hike over two days, encountering a range of challenges as they did so! From tackling difficult terrain to dealing with the terrifying threat of horses, all students worked incredibly well in their teams to support and motivate each other. Weeks of classroom training was suddenly made very real when faced with the outdoors, a map and your wits to get you back to the safety of the campsite.
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After a challenging first day which included getting very lost, many stinging nettles and a horse rescue mission from Mrs Brooks, students showed off their well-honed camp skills: putting up tents, cooking over their stoves and supporting each other as they relaxed after a long day. Day two, and the teams had learnt from the mistakes of day one and managed their day much more carefully; everyone managed to get to the end point on time and achieved the aims of their expedition. They showed incredible teamwork, supporting each other through some very difficult moments, and were an absolute credit to themselves and the Massiveschool.thanks also go to the staff who gave up their time to support the students in a number of ways, going well beyond the normal demands of the classroom and demonstrating the dedication to the students which makes the Cranford staff so special: Mr Venancio Ferreira, Mr Lever, Mr Bussue, Mr Fernandez and Ms Gomes for accompanying, assessing and supporting students throughout the expedition. Ms Ledlie and Miss Shaikh for their help in the training process (particularly accompanying the very hot training hike!) and Ms Gladysz, Mr Ryan, Ms Jenkins and Ms Prunty for supporting the logistical and administration side of the expedition.
EDINBURGHOFDUKE
Evelyn Brooks (Head of English – Joint DofE trip leader)
Nikita Thakur (year 9)
Tashmin Kaur (year 9)
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“The Bronze DofE course felt like quite an achievement: the jubilation after finally removing that hiking bag off my aching shoulders made me realise how far I had come. It made me think about the commitment I made in the past year to the physical, volunteering and skills aspect of the programme. I would never miss the chance of doing silver next year”.
“Overall, my experience in completing my bronze DofE was full of excitement and challenges. The most challenging part of DofE was the expedition, which really tested our abilities in being able to work as a team. This experience was very enjoyable, and I was able to create many memories along the way and I would definitely like to take part in it again in the upcoming years”.
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The GCSE and A Level Art and Design students have done a great job tapping into their creative skills to produce great pieces of work this year. The year 11 students focused on the theme fruit and vegetables for the first term of the year. After dusting off the kiln, it was made ready for use. Their enthusiasm to work with another material made it into an exciting and fun experience. They came up with imaginative and creative tiles and sculptures inspired by several artists they researched. From abstract to realistic pieces, the students made their work stand out applying vibrant colour schemes, patterns and drawings they carved in or added on to the sculptures. In the second term the focus was on the portrait project which again has led to some great original pieces. The A-level students continued producing their works of art linked with their personal themes. Topics such as portrait, surrealism, human body parts, flowers, fruit, food, shapes & geometry were researched. Whether they were utilizing modern technology to create their design or the more traditional process of printmaking by etching, the students explored and developed their crafts. Their works of art are a testament to their creative minds. Here is just a sample of the work produced: Elaine Leidsman (Art Department)
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Year 8 started the year exploring coding and developing their understanding of conditions and commands. Students learnt about how coding is used in a range of industries and can be a powerful tool. The students got their creative juices flowing when they worked on a project as digital artists creating digital self-portraits inspired by the artist Julian Opie and Shepard Fairley who uses a minimalist style to create his artwork. Finally, students got to grips with plasticine to create characters and a set for their very own short animations. Watch out creators of Wallace and Gromit, our students are showing real promise!
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The students sketched out their ideas before creating digital drawing on the iPad using SKETCHBOOK with our brand-new class sets of Apple Pencils. We are proud to share some of their work with you which shows imagination and technical skill working in a completely new medium.
This year the Digital Visual department has conscientiously structured lessons to give students a real-world experience of careers in the digital visual sector. Our students have researched and undertaken the role of animators, landscape designers, digital artists, directors, magazine editors, games designers and architects.
Year 7 have been busy exploring the marketing industry and developing their understanding of audiences and how they can ensure that they are producing marketing material that will appeal to their intended audience. They started the year designing a new chocolate brand and its packaging and then moved into directing film trailers for an original ‘coming of age’ film. In the summer term we looked at Games Design and how characters are developed as part of a game to appeal to gamers.
Year 9 are our most experienced digital visual students who have now started to fine tune their technical skills as they created digital landscape designs developing their ability to shade and control line weights which supported them later in the year with their initial architectural designs for their very own mini city. The students were introduced to our cutting-edge 3D printer with those who excelled in the design phase being able to 3D print mini buildings. Students used SCULPTRIS to create 3D models of innovative buildings for a future city. The students also showed a lot of talent in their design skills as they worked in teams to create new magazines with carefully constructed brand identities. Each student produced a magazine front cover using the codes and conventions we studied as part of our research and analysis.
Sharandeep Saroya (Assistant HeadteacherDigital Visual Department)
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Sharandeep Saroya (Assistant Headteacher - Media Studies)
The all-consuming nature of media was evident once more this year, as our A level students took part in weekly Microsoft Teams debates on the relevance and impact of media in the real world. As stories broke of twitter take overs, social media black outs and major studios halting film releases in Russia we discussed the issues of regulation and ownership effecting the media industry. As the newspaper headlines fuelled political warfare following party gate our students sought to actively deconstruct the meaning created on the front pages of national papers. The mania surrounding trend setting Netflix seasons such as Squid Games sparked debate around the ethics of marketing methods used to engage audiences with media content, while Marvel’s historic release of Ms Marvel with its representation of the protagonist’s Pakistani heritage paved the way for analysis of technical codes and conventions used to unravel stereotypes while appealing to a broad global audience.
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Our Year 13 students embarked on a journey of creative discovery as they developed marketing material for an original film including a theatrical release poster, international release poster, DVD cover and website in response to a brief set by EDUQAS. It was extremely exciting to unveil our 15 brand new iMacs in the Media suite for students to develop their NEA projects as we continue our commitment to high aspirations for our students by ensuring they work on industry standard software. We were impressed with the level of commitment and quality of work produced this year through excellence demonstrated in production and postproduction.
Nehchal
Having Media Studies as one of my subjects for A-levels has enabled me to expand my knowledge and understanding of the media industry. This subject has allowed me to critically analyse certain media texts such as the WaterAid advertisement and how newspapers are able to adapt to the internet. This subject involves a lot of research which I love the most as I can find my own information on certain topics and critically analyse information first hand. Furthermore, this subject has equipped me with the communication and technology skills that are needed in the modern workplace and helped boost my creativity skills. I love Media Studies as this course allows me to understand the culture behind media platforms, how social media and other mainstream platforms are able to manipulate their audience, as well as the impact and relationship media has with us. This course has improved my literacy skills which motivates me to write detailed essays as I learn a wider range of new terminology and theories which can be used in my other subjects. Media Studies overall is a contemporary subject for me as it is relevant to everyone. Singh (year 12)
Sypg ass Med a Group 97 STUDIESMEDIA
The year began with a celebration of SEND students’ outstanding GCSE results. We are delighted that Daniel Ortega, Shreyas Shikhare and Tara Rooprah continue to study at Cranford in the Sixth Form; all three are studying A Levels and making excellent progress - we are incredibly proud of all they have Mrachieved.Miles took a group of students from the Picasso ASD Centre to compete in a cricket tournament at the Middlesex County Cricket Club training ground in March. The event was organised by Mr Rattu in conjunction with Middlesex Cricket, a charity who work with schools to provide cricket coaching for students with SEND. Students enjoyed this rare opportunity to not only train in a professional environment but to compete against other schools –all thoroughly enjoyed the experience! We welcomed Ofsted inspectors in late March and saw this as an opportunity to celebrate and showcase all the achievements of our SEND students and to recognise the dedication and commitment of all staff working within Inclusion at Cranford. Cranford students, as always, did us proud when inspectors visited our various SEND provisions. Ms Hamadi’s reading group were quite simply outstanding and invited one of the Ofsted inspectors to join their reading group. Students spoke confidently and enthusiastically about the book they were reading; they were able to talk at length about the plot and context and demonstrated their genuine love of reading. Hamza wowed another inspector when he read aloud a poem he had written about his COVID lockdown experience. It was written for the assessment task for the year 7 Identity unit. This was also shared with Ofsted in March. He confidently shared his personal reasons for writing his poem and how he hoped his poem would raise awareness of the challenges young people faced during what was a very difficult time especially for students with SEND.
Kerry Mulhair (Assistant Headteacher & SEND Co)
Art has been an important part of self-expression for students placed in our Three Bridges Twilight School. Painting particularly has proven to very effective in relieving stress and anxiety and promotes overall happiness. Mirhan’s paintings are particularly inspirational: she has painted a magnificent bridge for Science week playing close attention to the structure of the bridge; she also painted a beautiful skyline inspired by the New York skyline. Mirhan says that ‘painting makes her feel relaxed and is her creative outlet.’ Palwasha has painted a stunning sunset and commented that ‘painting makes her feel calm and relaxed.’ The Three Bridges Twilight School proudly has these remarkable pieces of art on display to encourage positivity as well as contributing to a colourful and tranquil learning environment. Our dedicated SEND team continue to look for innovative and purposeful interventions to continue to support SEND students to develop academically and flourish socially. We are looking forward to welcoming new students into Year 7 and SEND students in Year 11 back into our Sixth Form in September 2022 and celebrating what we are confident will be another fantastic year of GCSE results!
The S END (Special Education Needs and Disabilties) department continues to flourish, both in terms of our expertise and in terms of the focused academic support that we continue to provide for the students in our care. As a department, we have undertaken training to better support our students who require Occupational Therapy and are developing our strategies to supporting students with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.
SpecialSENDEducacion Needs and Dissablities department2021-2022 98 SEND
Kerry Mulhair (Assistant Headteacher – Head of SEND Department)
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Out of the terrifying night that Covid started, waking up with the shiny sunlight, we couldn’t get flights, waiting to be high in the sky like kites. Leaving school, Covid was really cruel. Online lessons don’t count for school, people dying, it was a high amount, losing loved ones that we couldn’t count. Thank you to the NHS, they never got a moments rest, they had a big quest, leaving school we couldn’t do our GCSE’s or tests, couldn’t see our aunties or uncles never getting blessed. When will this end, coming back to school I finally got to see my best friend, no-one could even lend a pen, people metres apart seeing their loved ones go it broke our hearts, how long will this last! Hamza Ali Asif (year 7)
The AQA Unit Award Scheme is a unique way to record learners’ achievements. Its ‘can do’ approach is used to boost student confidence, support engagement and motivation. It is a tried and tested means by which learners, no matter what their age or ability, can have their achievement formally recognised. Ms Geister has successfully secured Entry Level certificates for 9 students who receive Social Skills intervention in Years, 9, 10 and 11. They have enjoyed developing a range of transferable skills from preparing and baking cakes, personal finance to revision and study skills. The programme has also helped to develop social, emotional and mental health awareness in our young people. They have explored topics such as managing stress, overcoming conflict and exploring mental health which ultimately has made them more aware of their own mental and emotional well-being.
Three Bridges Twilight School Painting
Mirhan Al Haj Shareef (year 8) painted the bridge painting in accordance with science week where the rest of her class built a bridge. She also painted the city and chose red colours as a sunset. She was inspired by the New York skyline. Painting makes Mirhan feel relaxed and have a creative Palwashaoutlet. Zadran (year 8) painted the sunset. She was inspired by the sunset at sea. Painting makes Palwasha feel calm and relaxed. She really enjoys painting. Ayaan Choudhry (year 7) and Hamza Ali Asif (year 7) have worked together on the ‘messy’ painting. Hamza chose the neutral background and Ayaan worked on the colour splashes. Both were inspired by a good mood and ‘controlled messiness’.
COVID (Poem)
AQA Unit Award Scheme has proven to be a huge success this year and we look forward to exploring more exciting and engaging topics next year.
SEND - UAS / AQA Unit Award Scheme
AQA Unit Award Scheme – a new social skills intervention piloted this academic year for students in Years 9, 10 and 11.
This year we took a small team to the West Super 1’s Competition at Middlesex Indoor School. A team made up of William Wallace, Pry’ince Cunningham, Alexander Amrouche (year 7), Hubert Ochendalski (year 7), Nataniel Myszakowski (year 8), Anish Subramanian (year 8), Yasir Malik (year 10) and Miguel De Guzman (year 11) were taken by Mr Bell and Mr Miles. Students were selected following a successful six-week Cricket programme with Middlesex County Cricket coach Stefan. The boys all represented Cranford in a positive and brilliant manner and had a fantastic day out playing Cricket against other schools. Teacher)
Super 1’s Cricket Tournament 100 SEND
Damian Miles (SEND
As part of our commitment and dedication to supporting SEND students to develop both academically and socially we were delighted to welcome the local charity ‘No Shame in Running’, a youth violence reduction organisation, to work with students at Cranford on an Active Mentoring and Sports programme. The programme ran for 8 weeks in the summer term and used sport alongside mentoring to support young people to build a positive view of themselves and achieve the things they want and deserve from their life. No Shame in Running use boxing and kickboxing to encourage all young people to learn and excel in each discipline. This programme supported our young people to reflect on where they were in the moment and also to review their skills, positive attributes and create goals to help them realise where they could be moving forward.
This has been a hugely successful intervention, students involved in this intervention commented that: “The sessions were really good. I was able to release my anger. I enjoyed doing the sessions with Darren. It was fun. It helped me to control my negative emotions”.
Damian Miles (SEND Department)
ToBoxingLearnand
Excel 101 SEND
“I enjoyed the sessions because boxing is my favourite sport. Darren was really good in motivating me. I improved my boxing speed a lot”. We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with No Shame in Running next year.
J amie farm is a unique residential experience where our pupils work on a farm. This teaches our students to learn new skills, experiences, teamwork and communication skills. The farm is a family organised set up which includes therapeutic programmes that centre around the life and workings of a farm. Students are selected based on recommendations depending on their needs. When students first arrive at the farm, they are understandably nervous as this is a whole new way of life for them to engage with, but it is not long before they settle in and really gain from the quality of life and therapeutic atmosphere from working with the animals, with the farm staff and with each other. By the end of the week they don’t want to leave! They look back on their time with real happiness and fond memories. Ledlie to the Senior Teachers Pastoral)
Priscilla
(Assistant
The Jamie’s Farm experience 2021-2022 102
FARMJAMIE’S
Basheak Bussue (PE Department)
Rebecca Prunty (Student Engagement Officer)
“I had an amazing experience on Jamie’s farm. It did come with many challenges which have taught me a lot. All staff members were incredible and I feel very privileged that I had the chance to get to know everyone. It was great to see our Cranford students in another light and really get know them individually. On the last night round the fire pit Elias said something that I will always remember “I have really liked that we have made our own little community on this trip.” I totally agree with him - it was lovely. I loved that the farm pushed us all out of our comfort zones and made us try new things”.
103 FARMJAMIE’S
“I found the farm really relaxing and made me feel more productive because I woke up early and found that I can survive without a phone. The staff there were really kind and open minded towards me. I found the farm fun”.
Khushpreet Gill (year 9)
“I learnt that I can survive without my phone for a week, and I can wake up early”.
Though there were times of tension and times of doubt, through hard work, teamwork and play, Jamie’s farm brought us all together in a way I couldn’t have imagined before. It wasn’t just the idyllic setting, the fantastic weather we had for those evening hikes, the bonding with Bella the resident therapy dog, the games we would play or the wonderfully warm and welcoming staff on the farm that made for a fantastic week but it was also a magical quality that resides there that made it special and needs to be experienced to be understood.
Ryan Dhillon (year 8)
Haifa-Armani Halane (year 8)
John Lennon (Head of Year 8)
“I think Jamie’s farm was a great experience to help get away from the city and all its struggles. It helps understand what you truly want and helps you see you at your best self. It helped me understand other people and actually see my teachers as human beings”.
“I enjoyed the farm because I overcame my fear of dogs and I got on well with the staff and they had very nice food”.
I went on the trip to Jamie’s Farm only knowing a handful of the students but I left with positive relationships and memories that will last a lifetime with all involved. From going on walks sharing stories about experiences both in and and out of school to bringing back childhood memories in the barn playing Connect Four and playing the piano at the end of a hard long day working on the farm. It was amazing to see students grow as individuals and step out of their comfort zones.
The April trip to Jamie’s farm brought students and staff closer to nature than perhaps most of us would have initially liked. Now, I am regularly harassed by students asking me if they can go back to the farm again. Before I went, I asked other staff members who had been there before what I should expect. I was told to expect hard work, a test of our resilience, and ultimately a fantastic time. But any description of Jamie’s Farm cannot do it justice or prepare you for Workingit.as a team, staff and students cleaned out the pigsties, fed the animals, prepared the food, chopped the wood and played.
Gurnur Kaur (year 8)
In the summer of 2021, we asked students for their thoughts and views on the current PE uniform (black and white). The majority of students agreed that it was time for a change; they wanted a new style, a change in colour, and more kit options. Research was done on designs, and we met and spoke with different uniform designers to see what they could offer and at what cost. A student panel was created who gave us their thoughts on material, designs and item choices. The overall cost of the kit was an important factor to everyone
The team were keen to provide many sporting opportunities and make up for lost time. The extra-curricular programme was full of many opportunities from competitive sports such as Football, Netball and Basketball to non-competitive sports such as Dodgeball and Fitness. We also believed that sport is the perfect vehicle to help promote academic success as a healthier and happier child is more likely to make academic progress.
The start of the year also saw the introduction of our Loyalty Card Scheme for students being involved in extracurricular. Pleasantly surprised with the positive response to this we will be continuing this moving forward and look to make the rewards and trips bigger! This year students were rewarded with JD sports vouchers, a pizza and movie afternoon, and a trip to Longridge Activity Centre to take part in outdoor laser tag. As much as we love our students being involved in sports for health, wellbeing and enjoyment it is nice to win and share the successes of our students. We have had many ‘wins’ to celebrate. The Year 10 football team finished top of their cluster league resulting in our first borough final against Isleworth and Syon. Athletics saw some of our female athlete superstars step up and shine notably Kirsten Woodward (year 10), being crowned Borough and Middlesex Champion in girls Javelin. We are delighted that we have Nicomi Brooks (year 7) who is the fastest girl in the Hounslow Borough and Eve Aibuki (year 9) claiming silver in the 200 metres. The growth of our fantastic Sports leaders continued and I am personally, super proud of how they shine a positive light on Cranford Community College every time they step outside and support events. The positive praise and feedback received from organisers, teachers and headteachers speaks volume about the nature, confidence and skills of our young leaders who continue to develop each year.
PE department 2021-2022
Cranford gets a New PE Uniform
This academic year the Physical Education department used the previous lockdown as an opportunity to reflect and then change many things within our curriculum and focus on areas of health and wellbeing and progress in the way we use technology within lessons.
The year started on a positive note with Samuel Dickson’s success in the Hounslow Cross Country championship before moving on to represent Hounslow at the Middlesex All School Championships and this really did set the tone. This was quickly followed by the Academy Board agreeing to a new PE uniform for students following a student voice questionnaire. Students were part of the re-design and selecting the new style which we are excited to see all students in from September 2022.
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This summer we will be running a multi sports club and are pleased to say that it will be led by a homegrown student and coach Wole Agboola, this is a great opportunity for him to grow and develop further as a sports coach as he is passionate about sports and thrives in positions of leadership. We hope the volunteers supporting him can one day follow in his
CommunitySports involved, and our aim was to ensure it was at the best possible price. We met with the school’s uniform supplier and made some changes to the logo and the design. Following on from this and meeting with the Executive Headteacher and the Academy Trust Board we are pleased to say a new PE uniform has been agreed. We look forward to seeing all our students looking smart and professional in their new stylish PE uniforms for lessons, clubs and competitions.
Hamesh (DirectorRattuofSport and Community Wellbeing)
Academically our GCSE and BTEC Sport Cohorts have done amazingly well. The Year 10’s have made a fantastic start to their GCSE programme. Our Year 13 who have now left will await final verification of results which we are sure everyone will be happy the final outcome. Our QPR scholars continue to exceed expectations and not only have all scholars completed the programme but the majority were offered extensions to their contract. We are very excited to hear about their continued growth into professional football. This year students showed great resilience in many individual ways and I hope that next year they continue to do so, grow and develop and enjoy taking part in Sports. We want all our students to be motivated to find a sport for their lifelong journey whether it be competitive or for fun.
Ourfootsteps.continued leadership programmes allowed us to promote sport, our fantastic facilities and the ‘Cranford brand’, to our local primary schools positively.
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Next year we hope to continue to provide more opportunities, host workshops on living a healthy active lifestyle and reward our loyal community users.
This year we were able to make positive steps in the community encouraging and promoting a healthy active lifestyle not only for physical health but mental wellbeing. Covid-19 had an impact on our plans initially but this year we were able to get the ball rolling. We successfully ran community based HIIT (high-intensity interval training) sessions alongside Hustle Hiit with support from Heston West Big Local (HWBL) which saw staff and community come together. We have now followed on from this by re-starting the family fitness sessions on a Tuesday evening making use of the summer sun focusing on exercise without equipment. We have successfully re-started the walking football post pandemic after a long absence, alongside our good friends HWBL and we have now partnered with Southall Athletic WFC to help promote football and provide some of their female coaches more coaching exposure with the ethos being ‘’For the community by the community.’’
Hamesh Rattu (Director of Sport and Community Wellbeing)
Basheak (PhysicalBassueEducation Department)
Athletics Gold for the Girls
Putting the “Qais’’ forward… A cricket gem at Cranford, Qais Bhaisaheb (year 8) this year has been pushing for a spot in the Under 15’s team at County level. Qais is a talented young spin bowler and his Cricket talents have not gone unnoticed. Already a part of the Ealing Trailfinders Cricket club and representing in the Borough Team of Ealing this year he has pushed for more. After a successful trial period he was selected for the Team Hounslow at the London Youth Games who went all the way to the quarter finals. He is trialling for the County set up, and we wish him all the best in his efforts. As a school we will continue to celebrate and monitor his success both in and outside of school. Well done!
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This summer saw the return of the Hounslow Borough Athletics Championships after a 2-year pause due to COVID. Over the course of 2 full days Cranford entered 8 teams across year 7-10, many of whom had never competed in the athletics competition prior to the event. Three students Eve Aibuki (year 9), Nicomi Brooks (year 7) and Kirsten Woodward (year 7) picked up medals on the day. Nicomi ran an impressive 100m sprint in 14.95s leaving the field behind to win her race and qualify for the Middlesex County Championships whilst Kirsten threw a whopping 23.08m to also qualify for the Middlesex Championships. When Kirsten found out she was going to the Middlesex Championships she dedicated her time after school almost every day to practise her technique. This ultimately paid off as she clinched the gold medal and is the Javelin U15 Middlesex Schools Champion. Eve also ran very well to claim the silver medal in the 200m sprint with a time of 31.8s against a very competitive field.
Hamesh Rattu (Director of Sport and Community Wellbeing)
Divya Sareen (year 9) and Anjna Sareen (year 7)
Cranford PE Loyalty Card In September 2021 we introduced a new engaging and interactive competition amongst students in the form of the PE Loyalty Card. Taking inspiration from Nando’s the card works as follows: students attend an extra-curricular club and are given a stamp on their card for every club whilst students who represent the school at a fixture are given two stamps. At the end of each term the students with the most stamps collected were put into a prize draw for various PE prizes such as gift vouchers, pizza parties as well as a Laser Tag trip. The student engagement with this pilot has been astonishing with some kids requiring a new card almost every other week due to attending so many clubs. This has helped the PE department massively in bringing back students to extra-curricular activities post COVID as well as seeing how many students and which students have turned up to specific clubs over the week.
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Laser Tag Reward Trip
Basheak Bassue (PE Department)
On Monday 11th July 2022, Mr Rattu and Mr Bussue took a group of students to Laser Tag at Longridge activity centre in Marlow. We were selected to go as a rewards trip because we attended the most extra-curricular clubs throughout the year and used the loyalty card which was new this year. It was a lovely hot day. We got to compete against each other in two teams (15 students in total) along with the teachers playing. We played outside which was really fun and made it more exciting. After the session was over, we went for a walk along the river and had a picnic. The activity centre was really big and had lots to do such as rock climbing and raft building which Mr Rattu has promised we will do next time! Overall, we had a great day out with the students and our teachers.
Hounslow Secondary School Cross Country Championships and the English All Schools
Samuel’s cross-country journey started by coming first in the year 12 and 13 Race with a fantastic time of 19 minutes 17 seconds and a PB (personal best) on his 5k time at the Hounslow Secondary School Cross Country Championships. Overall, in the senior’s race Samuel finished 4th out of 30 boys on the day. He was then selected for Team Hounslow to run in the Middlesex Schools Cross Country Championships in January.
Samuel Dickson (year 12 - Head Boy 2022-2023)
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Well done to Samuel Dickson Cranford’s very own running super star this year!
Throughout years 10 and 11, I took up running as a hobby: it gave me a sense of freedom and thrill that no other form of physical activity could. As year 11 PE lessons progressed, Mr Rattu recognised my skill in middle - long distance running. In the athletics lessons, Mr Rattu was training the boys to reach a 5k and I achieved that goal in my first lesson. From that point forward, he encouraged me to join a running team to try and take part in some competitions, but I would always say no due to my hectic schedule. When year 12 started, Mr Rattu offered me the opportunity to lead a running club afterschool; I was ecstatic that he had trusted me enough to oversee my own period 6. Many students attended my club, and we had many hilarious moments and made many fantastic memories. Leading this club has given me the chance to develop my relationships with the students from the lower school which has improved my social skills and will be a vital asset to me as I carry on as Cranford’s Head Boy.
Samuel ran his best time despite a difficult terrain (very muddy in parts and not the most straight forward!) He loved the experience of seeing Harrow School and meeting other students.
I am extremely thankful to Mr Rattu for entering me into Cross country competitions to not only represent Cranford, but Hounslow. It was exceedingly difficult, but it was an experience which I will never forget. Also, I thank my best friend, Anix Gurung, who programmed a training schedule for both my Borough race in Osterley and my County Race at Harrow School. The training was excruciatingly difficult, especially while balancing it alongside my A levels, but without him, I would not have had the success I did in my races. Even though I do not plan to carry on with running at the competitive level, it was an honour to represent the school as well as Hounslow, and I am immensely grateful to Mr Rattu for all the running opportunities he has given me.
WELLBEINGCOMMUNITYANDSPORT
I am super proud of Samuel’s efforts. He injured himself 2 years ago and has bounced back. He is a great role model for resilience and motivation.
Hamesh Rattu (Director of Sport and Community Wellbeing)
This year we started a bespoke Sports Leadership programme at Berkeley Academy. This saw a combination of key stage 4 students with 6th former students deliver afterschool clubs. All leaders involved have been fantastic and have not only gained further skills, knowledge and experience but provided a valuable club for children which has been appreciated by both the school and parents. Across all events we have used over 50 Sports Leaders. Each leader has been outstanding but I would like to give a special mention to the following leaders for their consistency and dedication throughout the year; Sanjana Bhola, Shenon Dias, Kasier Malik, Ajeet Bhamra, Kswaier Klimas and Amani Salim. Well done!
• Year 5 and 6 Cricket Tournament at Springwell Primary school.
This year the Year 10 football team had a very successful season back after Covid. After a rocky start, we were able to follow up with some wins which led to them winning one half of the Hounslow Borough League. This year the team was captained by Aaron Flower who led by example at all times as one of our midfield trio at the heart of our team alongside Matthew Berum and Abdusalaam Abdi. Gurnoor Arora alongside defenders Abdiqhatar Mohamed, Adegoriola Agboola and Zeyaan Abbasi were some of our trusted backline, and no team is complete without goals which Bartlomiej Jozwicki, Hussain Asif and Elijah Mathews secured. Well done to all boys involved in the team across the season, you should be very proud of your efforts.
• Year 5 and 6 Cricket finals at Gymkhana Cricket Club
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• Hounslow All schools Tennis festival in Chiswick
Below is a list of all the events we have sent leaders out within the Borough this year.
This year the Cranford Sports Leaders out did themselves not only as individuals but as a collective representing the school in various events and schools. There has been nothing but praise from everyone who has had the pleasure of working with our leaders including Luri Baptise and Matt Whitefield our Hounslow School Games Organisers, primary teachers and headteachers.
• Hounslow Year 4 Primary Athletics hosted by Cranford Community College
Cranford Sports Leaders
• Year 5 Tag- Rugby tournament at Springwell Primary school
Hamesh Rattu (Director of Sport and Community Wellbeing) 109
Hamesh Rattu (Director of Sport and Community Wellbeing) Year 10 Football Team
110 SOUL&BODYMIND,
Mind, Body and Soul
BodyMindSoul
2021-2022
W
The activities on offer are a reflection of the wide-ranging interests and talents of the staff at Cranford as the Mind, Body and Soul offer is determined by the staff and their desire to share their enthusiasm for an activity with the students. This year Anime, Naruto Uzumaki, Yogalates and Incredible Illustrations have featured on the options form and have been a fantastic success.
Let’s Go Outside and Learn worked with year 7 students on a social action project which also included designing a logo for Avenue Park and zipwire land art using natural resources to create art. The following article gives an insight into the excellent work year 7 Cranford students achieved with Let’s Go Outside and Learn.
The Mind Body and Soul programme welcomes the involvement of organisations and individuals from the community. Students have enjoyed swimming at Heston Pool, Korean taught by Kyoung-Sun Chung (Sunny) from the Korean Language Education Centre UK, Shakespeare Schools Foundation ‘The Tempest’ and new this year is a partnership with Let’s Go Outside and Learn.
Rita Berndt (Joint Head of School)
ednesday afternoon provides an opportunity for students and staff to move away from the regular timetable of history, ICT and science to a selection of diverse activities that the students can choose to immerse themselves in such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, OverRuledschool production, and Global Project.
“The trip was about learning about the outside. The experience was amazing. We saw the River Crane and it was the first time for me. We got to make the catch phrase for the park and make letters with natural items”.
“I enjoyed making the logos”.
Let’s Go Outside and Learn S ocial action is about people coming together to help improve their lives and solve the problems that are important in their communities, ideally impacting upon different groups of people. In Spring 2022, a group of year 7s took park in developing a Social Action Campaign project as part of their Mind Body and Soul program. Most of the 6 workshops took place outdoors, including two visits to the River Crane in a local green space, Avenue Park. The group explored many possible social action themes, including litter and wildlife conservation. However, taking into account the views of other local people, they decided that they were particularly passionate about the feeling of safety in the park, as well as some of the broken equipment in the Together,playground.the group agreed that one way to increase safety in the park was to increase the number of people who visited the park. To encourage more people into Avenue Park, the group designed a ‘Welcome To Avenue Park’ sign which was installed at the High Street entrance to the park. Each student made a letter using natural materials such as mud, flower and rocks! They also wrote letters to Hounslow Council to highlighting that some equipment was broken. Well done to this group on the fantastic pieces of art they created and all the effort they put in to bringing about social change. Here is how the students described their experiences:
“We made a sign to attract people and we put the sign out-side Avenue Park to make more people come… I enjoyed the walk and the visit to the River Crane was awesome”. Arisha Khalid (year 7)
Aanushka Parsad-Ram (year 7)
Lucie Bloomfield and Sarah Salisbury (LGOL)
“Let’s Go Outside and Learn was an amazing experience as we got to see new and exciting things such as the River Crane”. Zara Khan (year 7)
“Although it’s a wonderful place there is plenty of room for improvement!… This is important for the whole community”. Sandra Szostak (year 7)
Saishrauan Mohandas (year 7)
111 SOUL&BODYMIND,
Veronica Chow (National Saturday Club Tutor)
The Writing and Talking Club had a workshop on the art of storytelling.
The National Saturday Club made a fantastic comeback this year with COVID restrictions being lifted which culminated in an in-person Summer Show at Somerset House which was open to the public. Across the many weeks of work the students explored many new forms of writing, playing with language and stepping past their comfort zones in order to create outstanding and exciting pieces of work. Students started the year of workshops by exploring different ideas of identity, completing their own self-portraits which were an exploration into how students could use words in conjunction with art. These portraits were then displayed across the country and admired by many members of the public. They then participated in a virtual “Visit” wherein their efforts were noted and commented upon by industry leaders and the co-founders of the foundation, Frances Sorrell OBE and Sir John Sorrell. The students then applied their newly gained skills to their final project for the Summer Show where they created a literary Yggdrasil exploring ideas of diversity and inclusion. Members worked hard to create a conceptual response to the challenging space provided, creating a tree that was filled with black-out poetry leaves and hanging artefacts that ranged from fully formed magazines with articles on topics such as feminism, racism and Islamophobia to poetry anthologies. Their works were further accompanied by 66 poems that were threaded together with thread to represent the myth that people can be connected by a red thread – literally tying together their exhibit. The students then attended their graduation ceremony where they received their certificates and had a chance to admire their work at the prestigious Somerset House. The students are already looking forward to next year and the new experiences that lie ahead.
The last few months of the club were focused on producing the pieces for the public exhibition at Somerset House. Participants and parents were invited to attend the graduation ceremony at UCL before going on a private viewing of all the clubs’ exhibits.
C ranford Community College has been delivering the National Saturday Clubs for seven years and is very proud of the fact we are the only school in the country that delivers the programme. After two years of being online it was great to return to face to face learning.
We delivered two clubs this year, Art & Design and Writing & Talking. The clubs were run by two tutors Esra Kizir Gokcen, an artist, and Veronica Chow, a teacher in the English Department. The clubs met every Saturday morning and in addition to developing their skills in each field there were also opportunities to participate in a number of other activities.
Congratulations to the National Saturday Club members 2021-22.
For example, the students designed the Christmas card for the Hounslow Mayor and went on a visit to ARUP in the City.
National Saturday Clubs Programme 2021-2022 112 PROGRAMMECLUBSATURDAYNATIONAL
Esra Kizir Gokcen (National Saturday Club Tutor)
ClubTalkingandWriting 113 PROGRAMMECLUBSATURDAYNATIONAL
Jessica Joyce (Event organiser)
C ranford held a week of activities and events in recognition of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee from Monday 23rd – Thursday 26th May 2022. We decorated the Concourse with bunting and there were a number of displays around the school. The events took place at various points in the week including in lessons, before and after school and at break 1 and 2. We wanted the week to be both a celebration and an opportunity to raise money for charity. Here is just a selection of
114 WEEKJUBILEEPLATINUMQUEEN’S
Onactivities:theMonday the staff held a “Bake off”. They were tasked to bake a large cake or selection of small cakes fit for the Queen. There were a range of delicious entries, and we were hard pressed to award the winners. But after much deliberating and taste testing the winner of the large cake category was Hardeep Bhachu and the winner of the small cake category was Maria Bramhall. Each were awarded a jubilee apron which they happily modelled and the competition raised £73.10. On Monday break 2 the music department staged an “open mic” concert. For students there were sporting activities each day where prizes could be won ranging from archery shoot outs, freestyle football, egg and spoon races and netball shoot outs. On Tuesday period 6 the library held a Jubilee quiz and on Wednesday period 6 the Art department held a competition to create a painting or poster to celebrate the Jubilee. On Thursday a group of year 9 students presented a workshop version of “Basil the Rat” from Fawlty Towers. Throughout the week the dining hall served up a range of traditional British style foods reflecting 70 years which was quite a change for many of our students. Different departments adapted their curriculum to teach about the Jubilee. For example, In History year 10 looked at different monarchs and made comparisons between Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II. Year 7 students made bunting and posters. In English they celebrated some of the rich vocabulary in the English language. Fortunately, the weather was kind to us and everyone enjoyed participating in the activities and learning about why the country was celebrating this amazing moment in history and the longest living monarch. All monies raised were donated to charity.
On behalf of the sports committee, we would like to say thank you to everyone who participated in the sports events. We raised a lot of money for charity. This event was our first event and was amazing. We put a smile on everyone’s face and gave rewards to the students that participated, such as sweets and medals. We found that this was a great way to bring the whole school together.
Staff Bake Off Competition 2022 Bake A Cake fit for Her Majesty the Queen In celebration of the Platinum Jubilee Monday 23Rd May 2022 Two prizes available. Entry Categories: Either A large cake or A collection of small cakes All Cakes to be donated for sale after the judges decisions 1: The cakes will be available for staff to purchase. All monies raised through the sale of the Bake Off 115 WEEKJUBILEEPLATINUMQUEEN’S
Mehreen Shinwari (year 7)
Jubilee Quiz
I entered the art competition and got inspired by the Queen’s Jubilee. I drew how she grew up while being the queen. This is because it is her 70th year reigning as Queen, so reminding everyone about how she was before would be special.
Fawlty Towers
Ilias Kubica (Supervised Study Centres Assistant)
Cranford Community College Jubilee Celebration Physical Education Jubilee Timetable Day Break 1&2 (student) Period 6 (teacher) Monday Egg and Spoon Race StaffTournamentRounders Tuesday Archery Accuracy Ironman/IronwomanStaff Wednesday Football Freestyle StaffTournamentBadminton Thursday Netball Shootout NA Entry fee for all events will be £1.00 or 50p. Event Information Egg and Spoon - 10m race down the concourse. Archery - Three arrows per entry. Try to win a prize Freestyle Football - One minute per entry. Netball Shootout - One minute to score as many times as possible. Iron Events One kilometre timed run, Archery, 100m sprint, javelin and long Alljump.events will be scored out of 10 and a score table will be Cranford Celebrates The Queens MondayJubileePlatinum23rdMay2022JubileeConcert1.50-2.20pmB106Ticket£2 Cranford Celebrates the Queens Platinum Jubilee “Basil The Rat” Thursday 26 May 2022 B004 4.00pm Tickets £2
Jubilee Sports Event
Sanjana Bhola (Deputy Head Girl, Sports Committee and PSHCE Ambassador)
Jubilee Art Competition
The Fawlty Towers workshop reading was an absolute blast. I had so much fun playing Basil and the rest of the cast had an amazing time as well. It was far from perfect and quite chaotic but felt so fitting because of the nature and madness of Fawlty Towers itself. I felt like putting on a rehearsed reading of the show was perfect for the Queen’s Jubilee since it is such a staple in English television and has become a classic hit.
A big thank you once again!
Deen Asskoumi (year 9)
In recognition of the Queens Platinum Jubilee, we at Cranford library decided to extend those celebrations to an after-school quiz. Students of all age groups came by the library after school to take part and test their knowledge on her majesty, teaming up and competing to win an array of prizes. In total, 6 teams took part, scoring points on 20 questions regarding the Queen’s personal life, hobbies, and history. There wasn’t much to separate the teams, with everyone getting into double digit scores, and first prize was eventually shared between two teams. In the spirit of the day, everyone was presented with prizes including books, stationary, snacks and board games. The students that attended had a great time and learned more about the side of the Queen we don’t usually see.
March 2022 launched the first of these prospects with an opportunity to engage in a road safety performance and workshop. The purpose was for students to consciously think about their actions as road users to support behaviour outside school. Students engaged in the activity and were able to relate to the storyline presented by the external guest, allowing the year group to understand the bigger picture of their role as citizens.
The vision of the year 7 team is one that “seeks to build and maintain an ethos of independence, growth mindset and kindness to build student’s awareness of their bigger role, identity and impact in society, through maximising aspirations and opportunities for all students, regardless of backgrounds and abilities to reach their full potential and appreciating the value of actions within society.”
June 2022, the academy invited self-made businesswoman and social media influencer, Erim Kaur, to deliver a talk to students. This was a selective event where 30 year 7 students were amongst those within the audience to listen to her inspiring story and aid in raising their aspirations. The talk was well received, with the girls asking insightful and inquisitive questions to Erim.
July 2022, 40 year 7 students were selected as ambassadors for the Hounslow Junior Citizen programme. They supported in sessions with primary school students who attended the event, resulting in the smooth running of workshops. They had so much fun in this leadership role they were asking if there would be opportunities to help again, with many others in the year group asking to be volunteers. Having missed their chance to attend this event in primary school, the year 7 cohort were invited to attend talks led by the Met police on topical areas such as knife crime, radicalisation and violence against women. This supported the year 7 vision for students to have an awareness of their bigger role in society, with many students making positive contributions to discussions. The year ended on a strong note with a pizza party hosted for 30 students who had the most improved ATL from spring to summer term. In our Friday character development sessions, the year group have been working hard on growth mindset, metacognition and SMART targets. This allowed students to focus their attention on specific areas and subjects, so those who showed the most improvement were rewarded for their hard work and for overcoming their own obstacles.
of Year 7) Year 7 Review 2021-2022 116
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Starting the year off under lockdown restrictions meant opportunities for the year group to develop these areas were limited but when normality resumed the year 7’s were able to be rewarded with a wide range of activities to support the development of their personal, moral and cultural capital.
Seema Mehmi (Head
Sumaya Sharif (7V)
Abdirahman Mohamed (7U)
Seema Mehmi (Head of Year 7)
“On my first day of Year 7, I felt bewildered and lost, however, my new teachers welcomed us all with open arms! Year 7 has been an enthralling time of my life, meeting new people, learning fascinating things in all my subjects and being praised and rewarded by my teachers. Cranford Community College has a variety of opportunities and facilities as well, such as the dome and astroturf; we also have a multitude of exciting trips throughout the year to reward particular students for their outstanding attitude to learning!”
T aster Day at Cranford usually takes place in the summer preceding new year 7 students’ arrival at secondary school. The pandemic changed our normal routine. This year it was quite different with September being their Transition Taster Day.
Melanie Khanal (7U)
The day started with some very nervous, anxious students but ended with students leaving the school with a big smile on their faces. Throughout the day as students got to know their form classes many of them were able to relate with each other through getting to know you and team building activities - We had some amazing spaghetti and marshmallow towers by the end of the session. The highlight of the day for many was their science taster lesson, which allowed students to marvel at science experiments and have an introduction into their first secondary school lesson. The day was filled with laughter and accomplishments and high standards we expect from the year group were met.
Syeda Zaidi (7X): “Moving to Cranford was a big step, as moving to a new school where I had no idea what was going to come at me was really scary. But I soon found it very comfortable and not scary at all”.
“My first year at Cranford has flown by. When I first joined the school, I was quite worried and nervous about all the new people I would meet. Now I am much more confident and have made so many more friends. The teachers and courses that this school has to offer help me to feel more comfortable, such as the library, dome, astroturf and after school clubs. In the summer holiday, before I joined the school, Cranford ran a summer school program which made my transition a lot easier. Cranford has given me a lot of opportunities such as sport tournaments, spelling bees and school trips. I can’t wait to continue my time at Cranford!”
Elaha Najem (7X): “Our first day was a fun learning experience. It helped us socialise and gave us a good boost to start the year”.
“At the start of the year I was quite nervous as I thought I wouldn’t make friends. Now I have loads of friends I can trust and talk to.”
Wahidur Rahman (7Y)
Year 7 - Taster Day September 2021 117 YEAROFHEAD
“Switching to Cranford made me feel a lot older than I felt in primary school. Moving to a new school meant new people. At first, I felt nervous, but when I got here, I was glad that the students and teachers here are so nice”.
Reyhana Sheikh (7X): “I have found great passion for music because of this school and the same for science. This school has really brought out the courage in me and I am terribly grateful for all the opportunities that Cranford has brought to me”.
Travis Blay (7Y) “My taster day was amazing. I met people from my primary school and reunited with them in high school. We got to take part in a science lesson which was so much fun. We got to do a science experiment which made me excited to continue with science for the rest of the year”.
Year Road7
(Head of Year 7) Pizza Party 118 YEAROFHEAD
“In my opinion, the road safety performance was amazing! I thought that it was well-acted out and they made the characters come to life. You are also able to take a life lesson from that - not just the ‘stop, look, listen’ technique (which is still important) but also to not run after objects that you may drop on the road even if it’s your iPhone 13. I’ve also learnt that it’s not just immature people that pay the price as even the cleverest mature person might make this mistake. This could happen because when you are overwhelmed with emotions, the emotional part of your brain overrides your logical part and then we don’t think about what we are doing and make a mistake. Overall, I think the performance was outstanding and it was nice to meet new people and I think it was an enjoyable experience (excluding the sad ending). I had lots of fun, met new people, and learnt that it’s not only immature people that make these mistakes – it can be anyone”.
Navjot Dhillon (year 7) Safety Awareness Y ear 7 were presented with a great opportunity to see a performance about road safety and the dangers faced by pedestrians. The performance catered to the age group making the scenarios relatable to the behaviours they might display when with friends and the consequences of those choices. The students were engaged and enthusiastic and asked some great questions to the performers after the session. Overall, they were able to appreciate the importance of actively thinking about their actions in the real world and assessing risks in all situations which is an integral part of the culture we are building within the year group. Mehmi
“My personal opinion on the road safety assembly is that it was very entertaining and informative. It really showed me the troubles of the road and the consequences of not being aware of your surroundings”. Luqmaan Abdirazak (year 7)
Seema
Erim Kaur Inspirational Guest Speaker 119 YEAROFHEAD
The talk by Erim was eye-opening. It was very encouraging to hear a young adult talking about their journey through business and life so frankly. Erim was engaging and honest which made her progress seem so much more obtainable. Her simple strategy of making the most of life and aiming as high as possible whilst dealing with tough personal issues was reassuring for me.
Going to the Erim event was extremely eye opening and being able to attend as a feminist was great. Erim’s speech was really inspirational, and it left me with motivation. I’m grateful that Ms Mehmi was able to put together an event like this. Overall, it was really nice to listen to a female speaker about her life story and about feminism.
Renubegum Da Fonseca Hossain (year 9)
I found Erim’s speech very inspirational, her story made me feel like no matter what, I can achieve my goals and she made me want to look at the business industry. It was very interesting and some of her experiences were very relatable to mine. She seemed like a very strong person and that made me feel motivated to be as resilient as her. Willow Sell (year 8)
Samia Neves Pinto (year 8)
Marjaan Aman (year 12)
I enjoyed the event because her speech about not giving up was very inspirational. I felt honoured to be chosen to attend. I’m glad Erim was kind enough to share her story with us and even explain the struggles she had to go through to get to where she is today. I liked the fact that she let us ask questions about her business journey. I’m grateful she was comfortable to open up about her personal life too.
Sandra Szostak (year 7) In my opinion I found Erim’s speech really fun, interesting and engaging. Her experience in the business industry was really motivating and showed how strong and resilient she is. Her perseverance and kindness is really something to look up too.
Seema Mehmi (Head of Year 7)
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tudents were invited to hear the inspiring story of Erim Kaur. Erim lost her mum to cancer at a young age, so life became about surviving through struggle and paving her own path. She has overcome obstacles and broken glass ceilings to launch and run two successful businesses; her luxury hair brand (ByErim) and her social media account which has amassed a loyal fan base of over 250k followers on Instagram. The event consisted of a talk by Erim and an opportunity for students to ask her questions. Students asked thoughtful and interesting questions which allowed them to relate further to her journey and raise their aspirations. It was an uplifting evening of support and students left inspred.
A measure of our success has been the excellent contributions our students have made to the Year 8 committees. The Year 8 Media Team was created as a platform for our students to share interests and ideas through writing articles –including a moving reflection on the pandemic by Sofia Bisnauthsing (8W). The Media Team was a tentative start at a project which I envisage will grow to become a medium for our students to get stuck into local and global issues.
John Lennon (Head of Year 8)
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Milton Venancio Ferreira (Head of Year 9)
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Looking ahead to Year 9, we will increase the number of Year 8 student committees to mirror the Sixth Form committees and look forward to working closely with them. It promises to be an exciting year ahead.
I couldn’t write this review of our year without mentioning the triumphant completion of Year 9’s Duke of Edinburgh award. Nearly 30 students took part in this award that focuses on volunteering, developing new skills and testing themselves physically by taking part in a new activity. It was wonderful seeing students try new things and, for many, having their first camping experience!
Year 9 Review 2021/22 W
It makes me incredibly proud as Head of Year to see our Year 8 footballers show real potential, rivalling our current Year 10s in terms of ability, application and dedication. On the cricket field we have also seen Qais Bhaisheb been chosen to represent Hounslow, a remarkable achievement for the young man. The school productions of The Tempest and Overruled saw many of our Year 8 students tread the boards and the very memorable performance of Harleen Bath (8V) as an untrustworthy Prime Minister and the energy Ranvir Singh Kaur (8Z) takes to the stage each time is definitely worth a lot more than the £3 entry fee.
We ended the year with an incredible trip for 40 students to head to the south of England to spend a weekend challenging themselves, building lifelong friendships and simply having fun! Look out for another article in this year’s glossy for the update on that.
Seeing how seriously students took this choice was a reflection on how much they have grown as people and we are now looking ahead at a successful start to a full GCSE curriculum in September 2022 with a focus on their futures, their ambitions and how we can help them achieve their maximum potential.
ith the trials of the last two years behind us, Year 9 were welcomed back to Cranford Community College with a huge year ahead of them. Now that we are at the end of this academic year, I am still taken back by how incredibly successful this year group have been.
Throughout the year, seeing the young key stage 3 students I met back in 2019 quickly become mature key stage 4 students embarking on their first GCSE lessons, was a moment of great pride for me. With every passing term I was taken back by how much they were maturing and how fast they were making Inprogress.January we gave students the opportunity to make the first of many big life choices, their GCSE preferences.
In March 2022 students undertook their first mock exams, which was another fruitful challenge for the year group and gave them a chance to apply all of the knowledge they have aggregated till then and also to apply all of the life skills we were teaching them on handling mental health, emotional health and physical health during a stressful period of time such as exams.
We began the year, just like the previous two years, focusing a lot of energy and resources in supporting students development of important life skills that can take them to the finishing line of their academic journeys. We did this through our Character Development Programme and also the VESPA programme. Both of these courses are designed to teach students leaderships skills, social skills and emotional/ mental well being skills too.
Year 8 Review 2021/22 Y
The Year 8 Environment Committee continued its good work. They carried out an awareness campaign to help conserve energy in our school, an issue even more pertinent today than a year ago with the spiralling costs of fuel. This year, the committee headed by Amanjot Grewal (8W) looked at what we do as a school and where we want to go to in terms of protecting the environment and minimising our carbon footprint. The team interviewed Mr Fraser about issues concerning our students and it is this collaboration between Senior Leadership in the school and our students that will deliver the right message and make change happen. A video of the interview was produced and shared at assembly. The Year 8 Environment Committee is currently working on advising Senior Leadership on matters including sourcing recycling bins and in turn, Mr Fraser has been eager to involve our students and have their voices heard.
ear 8 has had an overwhelmingly successful year. We are quickly gaining a reputation for producing excellent academics, athletes, musicians, artists and actors.
The purpose of this trip was to reward students for excellent attitudes to learning and superb attendance to school. In addition, we were able to have a fantastic weekend filled with laughter, good memories and new friendships. With the support of Ms Pedersen, Mr Lallchand and Mr Fernandez, it was a weekend full of new experiences and joy. Students took part in trying to build their own rafts with their teams and then testing them out- some were far more successful at building rafts than others. I am sure that students will all agree that teacher’s support during this task was very much welcomed as we took turns splashing teams with water- all in the interest of science of course. Students also had a go at fencing- a particular shout out to Ryan Flower in 9V who seems to have a natural talent for the sport! Then came the scarier tasks. From climbing up a wall and then abseiling down it to jumping from a trapeze. I was in awe of the bravery these students displayed, all of which dissipated rather quickly once the student’s informed teachers, rather forcefully, that we also had to climb, abseil
Year 9 PGL Trip to Osmington Bay 121 YEAROFHEAD
F rom the Friday 8th to Sunday 10th July 2022, I had the absolute privilege of taking 40 year 9 students to the south coast of England. After a near 3-hour coach drive, we arrived at Osmington Bay greeted by the beautiful sight of the ocean in front of us.
PGL was a great and wonderful trip and such a great opportunity for me and so many others to engage with one another and take part in such fun activities such as raft building, rock climbing and much more. PGL comprises of so many spectacular challenges which I was grateful to experience with my friends and teachers.
The staff in PGL were super supportive and our teachers too. Being able to understand and be part of such a nice trip was amazing and for many others their first time.
Anisa Bilkhoo (year 9) Our experience for PGL was fun and was one of the best trips we have ever attended. Throughout the whole trip, we made new friendships with people in our year who we may have not communicated with previously. Moreover, we got the chance to try out new activities which we had never done before. It helped us develop more confidence and get over our fears. We are very grateful for this opportunity and are glad we have been able to take part in this very entertaining and eventful trip.
Milton Venancio Ferreira (Head of Year 9)
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Divya Sareen and Manisha Singh (year 9) and jump. All the laughing I did at students being weary of heights quickly came back to haunt me as I arrived at the top of the wall with Ashwin Chopra in 9V in a fit of nervous laughter before convincing each other to fall down. My only shining moment was beating Mr Lallchand in a race to the top of the wall- despite what he says. Another shout out is due here to Manisha Singh in 9W who surprised us all with how brave and quickly she undertook all the activities. I hope all the students that came on this trip left with a new perspective on their own abilities and how resourceful, resilient and capable they all are. I hope they will continue to have these memories as a special chapter in their time here with us at Cranford Community College.
I would definitely recommend people to go and I would love to experience this again.
Ashvika Jaintly (year 9)
Pari Mahmotra (year 9)
PGL was a great experience in which we were able to do many different activities. We also got to find out so much more about the people in our year group. I am grateful to get such an opportunity to enjoy a weekend outside of school with my friends and teachers.
PGL was an exciting, adventurous, entertaining experience, which was filled with extremely fun activities such as rock climbing, trapeze, problem solving, flag capturing and fencing. Pursuing these activities builds confidence and also encouraged us to grow as students, even if it was outside of our comfort zones. With our groups, especially with problem solving, teamwork was key in being successful, so PGL taught us to work together better. Being away from home helped us become more selfreliant and taught us how to fend for ourselves without parental guardians. Many memories and inside jokes were created with friends, as the trip gave us time to bond and become closer than ever before; it also motivated us to make new friends, and new relationships which might have been unexpected, but overall welcoming. In conclusion, PGL is a exhilarating, treasured experience, that’s talked about and remembered.
Year 10 is a challenging time for any cohort of students – the start of GCSE learning in all subjects, the looming prospect of their exams in the future – this, coupled with the impact of their last two interrupted school years, meant that the obstacles presented to them were large. However, despite these challenges I am writing this yearly review as a Head of Year who is incredibly proud of how we have taken the opportunity to meet these challenges head on. We are making incredible progress not only academically, but also in our development as young adults, and I am excited to see what successes lie ahead for us next year.
Outside of lessons have seen year 10’s returning to all kinds of extra-curricular activities and opportunities. We have been lucky enough to have students support with a number of whole school events, such as our 20 students who played a crucial role within the Met Police Commendation event, whilst our Year 10 football team made recent school history in reaching for the borough finals for the first time in many years. We even have two students – Max and Amani – playing critical roles in the Women’s Euro Championships, being a ball boy and flag bearer respectively.
Bradley King (Head of Year 10 ) 123 YEAROFHEAD
What a year we have had in Year 10! GCSE learning has formally begun across all subjects, the first time since year 7 where we have had an uninterrupted year of school and thankfully the return of society back to normal to allow more opportunities for extra-curricular activities. Well done to all students for their continued maturity and attitude in tackling increasingly difficult content in lessons and particular credit to our iMedia students who were the first in the cohort to sit formal exams this year!
Year 10 Review 2021/22
W hat an incredible year it has been for the Sixth Form. Two years of living through a pandemic, disrupted not only students’ academic progress but also their personal development so we ensured we ran activities and sessions to support the students as much as possible. This extended from the Friday Period 6 Power League to Winter Wonderland, tree planting, charity fundraising events and sports, all the way through to our stunning Year 13 leavers celebration event. We celebrated their achievements through pizza parties, trips across London and numerous edible rewards. We have high aspirations for all of our students and by regularly promoting and encouraging students to get involved, this resulted in students completing the Oxford UNIQ programme, and the Sutton Trust programmes at a number of Russell Group universities such as University of Oxford, Cambridge University and Imperial College London. The curriculum also expanded so all Year 12 classes have a timetabled PSCHE lesson where they covered a range of topics such as misogyny, cyber security and career planning – all of which are critical for our students to be well informed. We saw a number of students continue on the Extended Project Qualification where they researched and wrote well written projects in areas of their interest. It has been an absolute delight being Cranford’s Head of Sixth Form, and I wish all the Year 13s the very best wherever their paths lead them, and to the Year 12s, I hope you’re ready for another exciting year at Cranford!
Sixth Form Review 2021-2022
I think the pizza party is a perfect incentive for students to be on time to school and creates friendly competition between forms for things such as the quiz which we do in the mornings. I enjoyed the pizza party a lot as I love pizza of course but it also allowed me to engage with other students in my form I’ve never spoken to and usually wouldn’t speak to. There was music and coke and lots of pizza it was really fun and it makes me want to make sure my form wins so we can secure the next pizza party, and we WILL get the next pizza party.
C6J well done for having really good attendance this year and congratulations on winning not one but two pizza parties!!!!! I’m really proud of you all for coming into school, having really good attendance as a form and having a positive attitude to learning. Let’s keep it up for next year and aim for even more pizza parties!
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Rianna Forbes (Tutor C6J) Parties
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Vinay Dhokia (Tutor C6U)
C6U were a great form to be with; funny, smart, inquisitive – the superlatives are endless! We bonded over our enjoyment of puzzles ranging from what started out as wordle to the monster that was “sedecordle” with the occasional “nerdle”, “globle”, framed and “heardle” thrown in for good measure! We’ve created some great memories this year. These moments and so much more helped shape and bring our form together!
Tyrone Emmanuel (year 12)
Pizza
Priya Agarwal (Head of Sixth Form)
Year 12 Induction Day
September 2021 Induction Day gave us an opportunity to meet students whom either we hadn’t seen in months or whom we had never met before. We were able to start building relationships, which fittingly came from the teamwork activity to build spaghetti towers on the day. We had sessions that focussed on us putting together a timeline for the next two years at Cranford, vision and goal-based activities and also looked at our own personal growth that we have seen. It was a really well thought out event that supported our transition into Year 12.
Morgan Slater (year 12)
Year 13 Trip - Dear Evan Hansen 2021-2022
Rewards
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Rebecca Carter (Joint Head of Sixth form)
On Tuesday 29th March 2022, 30+ year 13 students attended the Noel Coward Theatre in the West End to see “Dear Evan Hansen” as part of the rewards scheme for sixth form. The show tells the story of Evan Hansen an anxious, isolated high-school student who’s aching for understanding and belonging amid the chaos and cruelty of the social media age. He soon embarks on a journey of self-discovery when a letter he wrote for a writing exercise falls into the hands of a grieving couple whose son took his own life. The show tackles the idea of acceptance, the power of social media and how one boy’s “lie” can have a profound effect on a whole community needing to believe in something. The students absolutely loved the show and much of the storyline, particularly in relation to the power of social media prompting intense discussion.
Sixth Form
(year
Sixth Form Cultural Fashion Show 2022
On the 31st March 2022, the Charities Committee and the Arts and Culture Committee decided to team up, plan, organise and run Cranford’s very first Sixth Form and Staff Cultural Fashion Show. As Cranford is a very diverse school with many different types of students from different cultures and backgrounds, we decided that this was the best way to celebrate and recognise cultural diversity at CCC. Over 15 cultures were represented by our sixth form students and staff throughout the evening, who dressed up in their colourful cultural attire and walked the catwalk. We had many different performances, performed by sixth form students too which included traditional Indian dances, a Bhangra performance, traditional Somali dances, Afghan dances, Nigerian dance performances and many more. The evening was vibrant, full of music and energy, and the audience (which included sixth form students and staff) was fantastic, cheering on their friends and teachers. This evening was also a way to motivate students before their upcoming exams and it was a great way to celebrate the level of hard work and effort that the sixth formers have demonstrated across the past year. It was great to see how the teachers and sixth formers worked so well together to plan their different performances and walks and it just showed how positive the relationships are between students and staff here at Cranford.
Gurshaan Ghattoray 13 - Charities Committee)
Sixth Form and Staff Cultural Fashion Show Cranford Community College Concert Hall Thursday 31st March 2022 4:15pm 5:30pm ARTS AND CULTURE COMMITTEE AND CHARITIES COMMITTEE TICKETS: £2 per person (all money will go to the charity 'Young Minds') PURCHASE FROM: School Shop Only STAFF and SIXTH FORMERS Sixth form and Staff: come and join us to celebrate cultural diversity at CCC Take part in the cultural fashion show, embrace and celebrate your culture! Venue: 126 FORMSIXTH
I really enjoyed working with the Arts and Culture Committee alongside the different students and staff who took part in the fashion show, it was a great way to meet and work with new people. Overall, we managed to raise £300 from the fashion show and this donation was donated to the charity ‘Young Minds’. Thank you to every one of the students and staff who contributed and helped make the event a success, it was a great show and was an amazing way to raise money for the charity.
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128 2021CHRISTMAS
T here was no doubt that the end of the autumn term and 2021 was not quite as we had planned with the resurgence of Covid, but undeterred we felt we had to sing carols to keep the spirit of Christmas alive. On the last Wednesday of term, a number of staff took part in our annual Christmas singing at the school gates. This year was different due to Covid and the number of gates that had to be covered. Our singing staff did not disappoint and brought with them some Cranford cheer to the festive season. Groups of staff sang at each gate all dressed up with bells ringing. Some students took part in the singing or played instruments, while others seemed happy to be entertained and have such a great greeting on a cold winters morning.
Staff Christmas Carols - “Jingle all the Way”
Priscilla Ledlie (Assistant To Senior Teachers - Pastoral)
Gurshaan Ghattoray (year 13 - Charities Committee)
Christmas Market event December 2021 129 2021CHRISTMAS
C hristmas is all about getting together, eating delicious food, opening presents, dancing to Christmas music, and participating in festive games and activities. This is exactly what Cranford did this year. On Tuesday 14th December 2021, the Charities Committee organised and ran a Cranford Christmas Market to support and raise money for the charity “The Salvation Army”. This charity helps the homeless and the less fortunate by providing them with hot meals, shelter, advice, mental health support, employment support and much more. Christmas is all about spending time with people and your loved ones, so this charity was the most appropriate for this time of year. After a stressful 2021 for everybody, the Christmas Market was a brilliant way to end the year. Samosas, pakoras, cakes, cookies, donut pops, hot chocolate, pin the red nose on Rudolf, the Christmas tombola, Christmas music, and much more were among the festive games, food and drink that students and staff were exposed to. Support and some donations from students and staff helped us raise £900 ! for the charity. The sixth form and staff Christmas Jumper Day, in which students and staff dressed up in their most festive and fluffiest Christmas sweaters, helped us raise even more money for The Salvation Army. We would also like to say a special thank you to the Canteen staff who made tasty samosas, pakoras and muffins for the event and to Ms Prunty for her incredible hard work in helping us organize such a big and successful event.
CELEBRATION-11YEAR
The Prom took place at the Riverside on Bath Road, a venue we have used in previous years and we were not disappointed as it looked amazing. There were some wardrobe changes into even more stylish clothes for the Prom. This part of the evening was for students (and staff) who celebrated the end of year 11 with a dazzling meal, some individual awards and then a night of music and dancing. The atmosphere was amazing and I was very pleased that this group of extraordinary young people made the evening so special for each other. I feel very privileged to have been a part of this cohort’s experience at Cranford. Matt Nation-Tellery (Head of Year 11)
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The evening began with the formal event where parents and family joined their son or daughter to applaud them as they received their certificate from Ms Berndt and Mr Ind, joint Heads of School. Celebration evening was an immense success. Tutors introduced their tutor group and spoke about their joy at seeing them through their time at Cranford and looking so grown up on this special evening. As Head of Year, I imparted some words of wisdom too, saying how proud I was of what they have achieved and their hopes for the future. There was entertainment provided by one of our talented singers, Luliya Jemal who sang “Diamonds” by Rhianna and everyone was blown away by her beautiful voice. Certificates, speeches and photos were a great way to celebrate accomplishments and to encourage future endeavours. Students and their families were dressed very elegantly and it really set the tone for part two….The Prom…
Year 11 Celebration Evening and Prom 2022
On Thursday 30th June 2022, a gorgeous summer evening, Cranford held its first Year 11 Celebration Evening and Prom since the pandemic. There was much excitement around the evening with the expectation of our year 11 transforming from students into glamourous adults as they returned to celebrate the end of their exams and the year 11 journey.
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Messages to Year 11
Dear 11T, I haven’t been your form tutor for very long, but I have known you all for most of your time here at Cranford. I was absolutely delighted when I found out I was going to be taking over as your tutor and keen to see how you had all grown up. I wasn’t disappointed. You are a really talented and lovely group of people. You made me feel welcome from day 1 and I think we’ve had a really awesome year together. It’s been truly lovely to see how much you have all matured and the focus and motivation you have put into doing well in your GCSEs. Please carry on working hard to make your dreams come true and most importantly, always take the time to be a good human. I wish all of you the very best for the future.
CELEBRATION-11YEAR
Jonathan Ryan (Tutor 11U) Dear 11V, We have been together for five years and I can honestly say it has been a blessing. This is not something that is new for you to hear as I have told you this consistently for five years. You have made my mornings a delight with your cheerful smiles and greetings and your mischievous comments and I know you have completely understood if I have ever had to get a little tough on occasions, as you knew I only had your best interests at heart. As a form we have had a lot to celebrate, particularly being the constant winners of the quiz and having great discussions about thought for the week. I will miss each and every single one of you and count myself lucky to have known you for these past five years. 11V you should be very proud of yourselves and view this next stage of your life as one full of excitement and opportunities.
Gill Taylor (Tutor 11V) Dear 11W, We finally made it to the end of year 11. I can still remember you all on Taster Day; those baby faces, all so sweet and now you are all mature young adults. I will cherish all the morning chats we had and remember those happy and not so happy faces
Barbara Lodge (Tutor 11T) Dear 11U, I became your tutor in year 8. Four years later, after many academic, personal and global challenges, we are still together, smiling and working on improving ourselves. This is a real testament to the school, our families and community, and the young adults in 11U. I wish you all the best of luck for the future and hope to see you all in September for the next two years of your journey.
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on a Monday morning. Thank you for all the happy times we shared together. You are an exceptional group of young people about to embark on a journey into an unknown world of more studying or working. I want you all to take advantage of the opportunities you get, enjoy life and don’t have any regrets. Stay positive, work hard, make it happen. Good Luck!
Barinder Dosanjh (Tutor 11X) Dear 11Y, We began our journey together from year 8, and over the last four years I have seen you all flourish into incredible, young, enthusiastic and lively individuals. You have supported one another and had fun together, and I hope you have built friendships that will last a lifetime. It has been my pleasure to be your form tutor. I am sure each and every one of you will achieve your full potential and it will be a pleasure to see you again in Sixth form at Cranford. I wish you the best of luck.
Amrat Atwal (Tutor 11Z)
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Baljinder Dhillon (Tutor 11W)
Hardeep Bhachu (Tutor 11Y) Dear 11Z, I had the pleasure of taking over 11Z in April of year 10. I must admit I was nervous taking on a form group at such a late point in their school careers and worried that we would not have that special bond that every form tutor has with their tutees. My worries were soon allayed as I discovered for myself how wonderful and unique my new tutor group were. All our journeys were shared ones, where they were respectful and polite and worked hard towards fulfilling their ambitions. Although our forthcoming journeys will no longer be shared, I know they will do well and see a bright future. I thank them for our time together and would like to remind them that I am still here if they ever need me. Good luck 11Z and all the best.
Dear 11X, I’ve been with you since Year 7 and watched you all grow… literally- most of you are taller now than I am, which I suppose isn’t too difficult to be! More importantly, I’ve watched each one of you develop your own personalities and become more confident over the years. I am so proud of all you have and will achieve. I will miss each one of you with your own quirky little traits that have become part of your beautiful personalities over the Remember,years.just because I’m not your form tutor anymore, doesn’t mean you can’t still come and see me if you need help with anything… S10 is always open to you guys! Please make sure you always try your best in whatever you do. I love each and every one of you!
Another Head of Year, Bradley King, took 59 of his Year 10s to Southend Adventure Island Amusement Park where students were able to quite literally let their hair down on rides such as Rage and Screature. A great time was had by everyone – even the typical
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Year 8 - London and Science Museum trip
Year 10 - A Day by the Sea
REWARDS
After breaking records with temperatures of 40.2 degrees recorded at Heathrow the previous day, Cranford’s Celebration Wednesday 22nd July 2022 was another cracking summer day.
The trip to London and the Science Museum for year 8 students was one that was filled with plenty of ‘wow’ and ‘are we there yet?’ comments. It was a clear indicator of how much walking the students did but also how they enjoyed every bit of it and were amazed by the wonderful sights of London. Students relished the chance to explore central London, both at the Science Museum and Tate Modern where, as John Lennon (Head of Year 8) explained, they had a fun-filled day out on London’s South Bank, visiting the Graffiti Tunnel, enjoying the stunning street art and then on to Tate Modern via Jubilee Park and the South Bank’s Skate Park. They also had a photo challenge to complete in which each group was tasked with taking as many photos as they could of iconic buildings and monuments whilst on their walking tour around the South Kensington and Knightsbridge area. Students took the opportunity to take pictures of Big Ben and Westminster Abbey across the river and were treated to strange and wonderful exhibitions at London’s Tate Modern - whilst they all did very well, it was Mr Rahman’s group that were the winners. Congratulations to them! Weary from walking but thrilled by the freedom and buzz of London, students will take memories from this day into their summer. This group of year 8 students were a pleasure to spend the day with. A fantastic way to end a wonderful year at Cranford. Thank you to all the staff who accompanied us on this trip but also to all the staff who helped make this happen.
The Rewards Trips Due to the heatwave the trips were rescheduled to a cooler day. Over 500 students enjoyed rewards trips to Brighton Beach, Southend’s Adventure Island, the Science Museum and Hyde Park, Tate Modern and that old favourite Airport Bowl. In Brighton, trip leader Ally Manole (Head of German), reported the groups were ‘fantastich’. Students embraced the opportunity of being near the seaside and had an amazing time skimming stones, going on rides at Brighton Pier and eating ice cream and Brighton Rock.
Year 12 Monopoly Challenge As part of the whole school celebration week, all Year 12 students and tutors headed off into central London to complete our very own ‘Cranford Monopoly Challenge’. Students created detailed routes around London to see a number of landmark sites and complete a number of challenges. The aim was to collect as many points as possible to be the winning group of the day. Challenges included going to ‘diamonds are forever’ (Bond Street), ‘complete a good deed as a team’ and, ‘sharing your culture with a stranger’. A great day out for all students and staff and congratulations to C6A and their tutor Evelyn Brooks as the winning team. Whilst the Year 8s, Year 10s and the Sixth form were out of town, the Year 7s and 9s enjoyed special celebratory activities of their own.
In high jump, Raqib Sulman (9U) and Chandeep Baweja (9W) demonstrated great sportsmanship in their event, however both narrowly missed out on first place to Arjun Ghotra (9T), who managed to get to an impressive 1.5 metre victory.
A massive congratulations to 9T who were the overall champions. We are sure Mr Lever is proud! The PE department wants to congratulate all pupils on their participation with both supporting and competing, well done to everyone and we look forward to having you back next year.
REWARDS
M25 gridlocked traffic didn’t dampen any spirits –and it was so lovely to see students enjoy time with their friends away from the classroom.
In javelin we had a new school record set by Darius Marinau (9Z) where he achieved a remarkable 22.3 metres. Biom Rai (9T) landed a fantastic distance of 10.65 metres in shot-put coming in 1st place overall.
Year 7 Charities and Enterprise Day Year 7 had a great day showing off and developing their leadership, teamwork and creative skills. With 135
Year 9 Sports Day was Cranford’s first full Sports Day since lockdown, where both athletics and team sports participation took place. This included events such as javelin, archery, relay, basketball and dodgeball.
Year 9 Sports Day
Eve Abuki (9Y) confidently took the gold medal in the 200m race and Ruben Cardozo (9Y) supported his fellow form group champion resulting in a clean sweep for 9Y.
Besime Isikgun (PE teacher) said “it was highly enjoyable for both pupils and academy staff, and the engagement and competitiveness projected from the pupils was fantastic to see”
You Wei Guang (year 7)
Melanie Khanal (year 7)
All students were given 3 tokens each to ‘spend’ at the stalls as they competed to raise as many tokens as they could as a form; the form with the most tokens would get to donate the overall money raised to their chosen Studentscharity.setup their stalls with great excitement at the start of period 4 and enjoyed an hour of mingling with their friends, enjoying sweet treats and competing with each other in cards games, penalty shoot outs and obstacle courses. Staff were drawn in by the joy and laughter of year 7 with many coming out to donate and participate in activities enjoying the Cranford Webuzz.ended the day with a celebratory assembly where each form cheered each other on with awards and certificates. The final prize went to 7X Who raised the most number of tokens and so we are proud to be donating a total of £1000 to their chosen charity the Teenage Cancer Trust.
REWARDS
“I found the charities and enterprise day very rewarding as we spent time on the each of our own unique games, food and entertainment for a charity. What I enjoyed the most was that we were helping charity and the teenagers would be happy to receive money for their cancer treatments. I also enjoyed the preparation part as everyone got along to help each other”.
“The charities and enterprise day was an eye-opening and astonishing experience for me. We all felt determined to create various fundraisers, such as selling cupcakes and Contributing tokens and money to other forms.By the end, knowing that we would help other children with cancer treatments, was the most rewarding to me”.
Year 7 students spent their morning making smoothies, milkshakes, fruit cocktail sticks, decorating cakes and biscuits to name but a few of the yummy treats they had in store. Our most creative students made some beautiful marketing material to attract customers to their stalls and our most competitive year 7s created games that were not to be missed!
Rob Ind (Joint Head of School)
weeks of planning ahead, each form group decided on a charity that they felt most passionate about and hatched a plan for 3 fundraising activities they would organise and execute to raise money for their chosen charity. Every form group worked on planning and arranging resources for activities in the following categories: Food/Drink sales, Games and Entertainment. Students began the day with a virtual assembly briefing them with the plans for the day; it was remarkable to see how quickly students got stuck into their assigned tasks to work against the clock before it was time to sell, sell, sell period 4!
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This year World Book Day was celebrated on Tuesday 22nd March 2022. We decided to host a week of activities with the main celebrations taking place in the Cranford library. The aim was to encourage students to become more familiar with the library and bring new readers as well as doing something fun for regular visitors. These activities included a quiz night, a mystery investigation, arts and crafts and a movie night. It was a busy week as each activity created more anticipation for the next, building the number of students that participated each day. Due to the high number of students that participated, we required the assistance of some 6th form students to help run each activity and maintain order in a somewhat chaotic week. We ended each day with refreshments and snacks to refill the spent energy. Along with these activities, we set up a shop on the opposite side of the library. We sold Books, board games, stationary and many other novelties to students and staff members that visited. This added to the bustle of the library bringing more students that perhaps would not have visited the library before.
Katherine Pedersen (Second in English Department)
Cranford Celebrates World Book Week 2022 137 WEEKBOOKWORLD
This world book day, the English Department received vouchers to purchase a new book for free! We know that reading and having books helps us with our studies and throughout our lives. How did you celebrate world book day? Perhaps you found a new book to read by completing the scavenger hunt and finding out what teachers across all the departments like to read.
Manjula Giga (Study Centres Manager)
Overall, it was a great week filled with positive energy and a fast pace. World book week was definitely a highlight of the school year for many students. We look forward to celebrating again next year.
English CelebratesDepartmentWorldBook Day
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H ounslow’s Promise, the charity started by Cranford Community College and Seema Malhotra MP has a new programme called Connected Futures. The programme supports young people aged 18 to 24 into employment and the first few months of employment when failure rates can be high. The programme has 4 different parts. The main part is the mentoring programme but there are also masterclasses where leaders in their field talk about their careers, wellbeing sessions and volunteering opportunity.
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Volunteering opportunities so you can give back to the community and gain experiences to add to your CV Access to fitness and wellbeing classes led by professional coaches Sign Up Here www hounslowspromise org/connectedfutures Become a
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CONNECTEDFUTURES 138 PARTNERSHIPSCOMMUNITY
Young Leaders
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The programme lasts 9 months and so far, has 40 young people signed up with a target of 150. The project is being funded by London Borough of Hounslow and DWP.
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The programme developed following discussion with the Kickstart employees which Cranford ran last year. The Kickstart scheme was the government scheme which gave unemployed 18 to 24-year-olds the chance of employment for six months. Cranford took on 12 young people on the scheme and was able to offer 6 people jobs after the scheme had ended. Our discussions highlighted that young people over 18 often don’t have anyone to go for advice and guidance. They sometimes feel abandoned. Connected Futures is about giving that support network to this group of young people.
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Hounslow’s Promise are looking for professionals who can support young people through 1:1 mentoring. apply to become a mentor, you need to: in or retired passion commitment supporting young people community 1-2 hours not need any previous experience of mentoring as you will receive full training. TO APPLY: sounds opportunity interest on the Hounslow’s Promise website: www.hounslowspromise.org Fraser (Assistant Headteacher Director Community Partnerships & Income Generation)
Share your career journey and expertise Sign Up Today
Connected Futures
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1:1 mentoring from a professional in Hounslow to help you set and achieve your goals Masterclasses and trips to local businesses to help you develop new skills and learn about different careers
Could you spare just 1-2 hours a month to make a difference in the life of a young person?
HOW
Hounslow’s Promise is an employment and education charity founded by Seema Malhotra MP. Since January 2022, it has been running the Connected Futures programme to access to employment for young people aged 18-24 through mentoring and a range of other interventions.
wTMentorodaywwhounslowspromise org/mentor sign up Work closely with a young person aged 18 24 in Hounslow Help your mentee to set and achieve their goals Full training provided. No previous mentoring experience needed 1 2 hours of your time each month
Become a mentor with Hounslow’s Promise to support a young person take the next steps in their career.
• Be 25 years + • Have a
Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher / Director of Community Partnerships & Income Generation)
Metropolitan Police West Division Commendation Awards 139 PARTNERSHIPSCOMMUNITY
In July 2022 Cranford Community College welcomed the Metropolitan Police West Division Commendation awards ceremony in the Cranford Suite. The event was hosted by twenty Year 10 students who managed the event from guests’ arrival, refreshments and general hospitality. The ceremony recognised the bravery of over 50 police officers and members of the public. The event was attended by the Division Commander Chief Superintendent Sean Wilson, Mayors and Deputy lieutenants, senior police officers and families from Hounslow, Hillingdon and Ealing. Many of the citations were harrowing stories with a common theme of bravery, going above and beyond and saving many lives through their actions often at risk to themselves. Following the ceremony, the officers and their families enjoyed a wonderful lunch provided by our catering staff. One officer commented ‘this is better than the ceremony at New Scotland Yard.’ During his closing remarks the Chief Superintendent praised our students saying that they are excellent role models for society.
We are delighted to have three completely refurbished tennis courts and two netball courts. These will be used by the school during the day and by the community during evenings and weekends. Further enhancements will be a new perimeter fence and for the first-time floodlights which will enable all year-round play. We are particularly excited about netball as it is an increasingly popular sport and we are in discussions with the Netball England on how we can grow netball at Cranford. These improvements are possible thanks to funding from QPR who continue to be a high-quality partner. The tennis courts and netball courts are part of a wider site improvement plan which will see some major improvement over the coming years including all new high quality changing rooms for both the school and the community which are due to open in September.
Sports Facilities Upgrade for School and Community
Alan IncomePartnerships/(AssistantFraserHeadteacherDirectorofCommunity&Generation)
T his year we welcomed back the Welcome Club which has been going at Cranford for over 25 years. The Welcome Club is a group of retired people who meet once a week to play bingo and socialise. Due to the pandemic the club had not met for over two years and for many of the participants this was there first time out of the house. To celebrate their return our catering team baked a special cake and we look forward to welcoming them for years to come. If you would like to join them, they meet every Monday in The Globe.
Welcome Back to the Welcome Club
Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher / Director of Community Partnerships & Income Generation)
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Planting took place in March with approximately 50 volunteers at each session. Lunch was provided as a thank you to all those volunteers who gave up their weekend to create this amazing golden woodland walkway. Over the coming year there will be further development of the woodland pathway including the planting of 50 specimen trees donated and planted by our partners and community groups.
The trees and the pathway have been created by members of the community including staff, students, community lettings groups and external groups including police and army cadets, council and councillors and community organisations which have been associated with Cranford over the years. The path was dug by the school grounds maintenance team. Everyone involved found the experience rewarding and enjoyable and after a quick guide on how to plant trees everyone got stuck in. The idea behind the project is to encourage people working together to achieve a common goal. In recognition of their efforts the names of the organisations will be added to a plaque at the start of the Bywalkway.planting now, the trees will be established by September 2025 when the official opening of the woodland walkway will take place.
To celebrate 50 years of Cranford Community College and the work it has done over the past 50 years for students, families and the community we are creating a woodland walkway which will follow the perimeter of the school playing field, a distance of approximately 1km. The first 100 trees were planted in November 2021 with a further 900 trees planted in March 2022. In addition to the trees there will be a 2m wide woodchip pathway following the route between the trees. The trees are native species and consist of a mixture of silver birch, hazel, rowan, elder, blackthorn, crab apple and dog rose. There will also be some specimen trees including oak, beech and juniper.
Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher / Director of Community Partnerships & Income Generation)
“The tree planting was an overall amazing experience; the feeling of doing good for the community was amazing. It was inspiring knowing that there were like-minded people working collectively to achieve the same goal: to help the environment. Being part of this charitable initiative to celebrate the school and the surrounding community demonstrates my commitment and pride in this amazing community”.HarjotChawla
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Cranford Community College Golden Woodland Walkway Project
Children have a choice of 3 types of activity, either sport, creative or film making with all doing some physical activity at some point in the day. At Christmas we ended the camp with a traditional Christmas party with an entertainer and at Easter we had an Easter Bonnet parade with some amazing hats. The summer project is run throughout August providing four weeks of activities building on the experience of the previous camps.
Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher / Director of Community Partnerships & Income Generation)
uring the major holiday periods Cranford has been participating in the Holiday Activity Fund and running holiday camps in conjunction with Creative Spaces London and Heston West Big Local. The camps are funded by London Borough of Hounslow and are open to children aged 7 to 16.
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The camps are great fun and equally appreciated by the children and parents. It is particularly pleasing to see that many of the staff who run the camps are former or current students who have developed the skills and confidence needed to act as leaders through volunteering activities.
Holiday Activity Programmes 2021-2022
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Once again, Creative Spaces London have been working with Cranford Community College and the Big Local to deliver our popular Big Summer Project. Throughout August over 60 local children have had access to creative workshops, film and sports plus a hot meal. The project has offered participants opportunities to try mosaic-ing, tie dye, printing, clay crafts, storytelling, football, dodgeball and a range of games and physical activities. In addition, the summer project has encouraged young people to try new things, enjoy messy play and meet others in their community. It has also provided valuable employment, volunteering and training experiences for local young people, whilst supporting families, which in turn has encouraged better wellbeing and community cohesion. The summer project marked its final day with a group celebration on the 25th August as we gently waved goodbye to a wonderful summer. We would like to say a huge thank you to Cranford Community College for all their help, support and hospitality again this year and we look forward to seeing you next summer!
Rachel Doherty (Artistic Director - Creative Spaces London)
Brentford F.C. Community Sports Trust Focus 30
NetworkRadicalisationAwareness(RAN)
Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher / Director of Community Partnerships & Income Generation)
In May 2022 I took part in the first face to face Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) meeting since the start of the Pandemic. The RAN is funded by the EU and is made up of education and youth work practitioners from across Europe. The meeting took place in Lisbon and the topic for discussion was the role and impact of gender on radicalisation and hate crime. The consensus was that the pan Europe rise in hate crime against women and misogyny were a serious threat and challenge which schools needed to push back against. As well as a productive meeting it was great to see old friends and colleagues who I had not seen for three years including my Finnish co-author of the paper we wrote together for the EU. We wrote it last year and it was published in January 2022. It is called the Manifesto for Education and looks at the threats to education and society from radicalisation and polarisation.
On Monday 28th February 2022 Brentford Football Club Community Trust ran a programme called Focus 30 with some Year 8 students. The aim of the programme was to improve children’s ability to focus in lessons through sporting activity. The programme was a mix of class-based activity and physical activity with the last session being a visit to the new Brentford Community Stadium and a tour of the amazing new facilities.
Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher / Director of Community Partnerships & Income Generation)
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Senior Norwegian Police Delegation Visits Cranford
On Wednesday the 4th May 2022 Cranford hosted a delegation of senior Norwegian police who were taking part in a seminar on radicalisation as part of their senior leadership programme. The seminar was organised by the Met Police officer DC Abid Raja. Abid has been involved in many projects at Cranford and was keen for us to host and participate in this important seminar. The seminar was opened by Kevin Prunty, Executive Headteacher, who outlined why the area of radicalisation and hate crime was personally so important to him. The morning was a series of seminars followed by a sumptuous lunch prepared by our catering team. The afternoon session started with a mixed group discussion between the police and 20 year 12 students on the challenges that young people face today and comparing them with the challenges faced by Norwegian youth. Each group then presented back their discussion. There was a general consensus that the challenges faced by young people are the same in both countries with gang activity seen as the biggest threat. The final session was led by Alan Fraser with the theme of what Cranford does to develop cultural and social capital through effective high-quality partners. The Norwegian police were full of praise for the school. Their most memorable session was the group discussions with our students.
Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher / Director of Community Partnerships & Income Generation)
• Clever never goes – this is a variation on the more traditional stranger danger message which reflects the fact that children are often at more danger from people they know.
Our Year 7 and 8 Ambassadors did a superb job helping to ensure the event was a great success. Fraser (Assistant Headteacher / Director of Community Partnerships & Income Generation) Citizens Scheme 2022
• Knife crime sadly still a problem often linked to gang activity.
• Violence against women and girls including domestic violence.
Hounslow
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• Cyber crime and Cyber choices plus a link to gaming where children are vulnerable to being groomed for criminal activity.
• Physical and mental well-being. These were very serious topics, but we made sure that the children also had an enjoyable and memorable day.
Summer
In July 2022, after a break due to the pandemic, Cranford welcomed back the Hounslow Citizens scheme. The scheme is a day event offered to every Year 6 child in Hounslow and this year nearly 3000 children participated in the two-week event. The event takes place on our playground with children rotating round a series of different scenarios. The scenarios were created to reflect the changing threats that young people face today. The scenarios were delivered by the Met Police, London Borough of Hounslow, London Fire Brigade, Cyber Choices, Fraggers Gaming and Brentford Community Heath.
• The dangers of Lithium batteries as a fire risk.
The scenarios included:
Alan
Inspectors visited Social Sciences and recounted how impressed they were that a sixth former, Adewole Agboola, did a fantastic job when given the opportunity in A level Psychology to take over the teaching of the class.
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In Social Sciences, we believe that learning should be placed within a dynamic framework of discussion and debate and should promote a high level of independent learning from the pupils and therefore part of our intent is to help them to engage in self- regulated learning in order to develop self-mastery and a love for life- long learning. Bearing that in mind, we have continued to promote a high level of independent learning from the pupils, by encouraging them to undertake their own research on the topics they are learning and engage in ‘flipped learning’ so they come to lessons prepared and armed with the foundation they need to effectively build their knowledge. Our overarching aim is to develop and build upon their social and cultural capital so they can flourish as global citizens. During lessons, students have been sharing this knowledge by taking on the role of ‘teacher’; preparing presentations, work sheets and teaching their peers lessons inside the classroom. This has provided our students with the ability to develop their confidence, articulating their ideas in order to share with others, develop excellent interpersonal skills and practise their oracy skills in a safe and nurturing environment. Answering their peers’ questions has helped our students to engage in critical thinking, develop their critical reasoning skills and has armed them with the ability to communicate balanced arguments. Lessons such as these reinforce our high expectations of the students and emphasise the value we place on scholarship as well as equipping our students not only for the challenges of higher education but for the world of work too.
Barinder Dosanjh (Head of Social Sciences)
SocialDepartmentSciences2021-2022
Celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee - A Summer of Culture!
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On Sunday 5th June 2022 we held our Big Local and Summer of Culture Queen Platinum Jubilee Event at the Brabazon Community Centre. In partnership with Creative Spaces London (CSL) and Bantu Arts, we had over 130 residents join in on the celebrations. Bantu Arts were amazing delivering drumming masterclasses and live performances. CSL inspired the community to create Jubilee-themed art and accessories. Our Big Local Youth Film Club participants captured the event, interviewing attendees including the London Borough of Hounslow’s newly elected leader and Heston West ward councillor Shantanu Rajawat. We were also joined by several Cranford Community College students, including Ryan Arnold. Ryan said: “It was fantastic to see the community come together and celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee. I really enjoy volunteering with the Big Local, my confidence and skills have improved a lot. The African drumming was my favourite part of the event.” Overall, the event was a big success, drawing in residents from across the local area.
Heston West Big Local 2021-2022
Cranford Community College sixth form student Zobia Masood volunteered at the event, interviewing participants for the event film. Zobia said: “I am delighted to see residents from care homes and supported living coming along to our school to be part of this amazing event. We need to have more activities and events like today involving people with complex disabilities with the community. I am proud of the everyone and loved getting involved with playing Boccia.”
We would like to give a massive thanks to all our supporters, volunteers and community partners for their brilliant effort and support during the pandemic including Cranford Community College, Heston Royal British Legion and Keep Britain Tidy.
Taz Virdee (Heston West Big Local –Project Manager)
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Boccia Success! Brilliant turnout at our first-ever disability sports tournament
Celebrating our COVID-19 heroes at our 5th Big Local Community Volunteer Awards Ceremony!
We had over 70 local people attend, including residents from day care centres and supported living accommodations across the borough. Big thanks to London Borough of Hounslow for their support. Special thanks to all our Big Local volunteers, participants and supporters on the day.
Cranford Community College Head Girl Sharanjit Kaur said: “It was a brilliant day, I am really proud of everyone in our community. To me, everyone is a winner for volunteering for Heston West Big Local. I am proud to have been recognised for my voluntary work and receive the prestigious Brian Clark Award. It was so great to see so many students at Cranford Community College getting involved with the local community and being part of the Big Local Youth Action Team. Volunteering changes lives for the better, thanks to volunteering, I gained leadership skills which helped me become Head Girl at Cranford and will help me with my future career.”
On Saturday 11th June 2022, in partnership with London Borough of Hounslow’s Public Health department. Big Local volunteers Tarek Mrad and Ramandeep Mann organised the borough’s first ever Community Boccia Event at Cranford Community College.
On Saturday 11th September 2021 we held our 5th Big Local Community Volunteer Awards ceremony celebrating our volunteers who supported our Covid-19 foodbank programme last year during the pandemic. Together they picked, packed and delivered over 2,500 meals serving our local community. Big thanks to all our incredible volunteers and community partners and also Mayor of Hounslow Bishnu Gurung for attending and giving out the awards.
A Fond Farewell to Year 13 150 CELEBRATION-13YEAR
Good luck year 13 with the next phase of your lives. See you on results day.
On Friday 27th May 2022 we said a fond farewell to year 13 in the Cranford Suite. On a beautiful sunny evening this social event celebrated the end of their time at Cranford and gave everyone an opportunity to look back over the past few years. This year group have been very much affected by the impact of the pandemic, but they have been resilient and worked hard to ensure that they achieved as best they could and remained positive even when there were huge challenges to face. But on this night, it was all about celebration and as the Student Leadership team 2021-2022 stepped down from their role, they spoke eloquently about their memories of the year group with humour and affection. Ms Carter and Ms Agrawal also spoke of their pride in the year group and all they had achieved. After some entertainment and some presentations, it was time to enjoy the refreshments, take photos and thank their teachers and tutors for their support and hard work.
Rebecca Carter and Priya Agrawal (Joint Heads of Sixth Form)
All priceless moments! We shared a season of our lives, but every season has an end. Our time at Cranford has taught us to pour all positivity and energy into every moment of our lives because every moment matters. We wish you all the best for the upcoming exams and the future ahead.
Thank you Ms Agarwal and Ms Carter for keeping us together and making sure that we were always on the right track. Thank you to all the staff for your hard work and being our role models. Thank you, prefects, for always being there to help us out and making sure that we met the expectations. To our teachers, for the lessons and encouragement. To our peers, for their friendship and learnt mistakes. To each other, for those happy moments and imperfections, that molded us into the people we are today
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A Message from the Student Leadership Team 2021-2022
Marjaan Aman (Deputy Head Girl - Environment Committee)
I applied for a role on the Sixth Form Leadership Team because I wanted to represent Cranford. I enjoy leading a team and had the personal aim of building my interpersonal skills and becoming a more confident individual. My intention for our student body was to increase communication between the leadership team and the wider school to better understand student voice. Positive feedback to the projects run by the Environment Committee is one of the ways we ensure students are happy. The Environment Committee has had over 45 students sign up to participate in our Sunflower Project. Years 7 and 8 will be exploring their gardening skills during the summer term. Planting sunflowers will help students become more aware of their contributions to the environment. I look forward to what the Environment Committee will achieve in the next academic year.
Samuel Dickson (Head Boy – Charities Committee)
TheIntroducingStudent Leadership Team
Ayesha Kaur (Head Girl - STEM Committee)
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It is a great privilege to have been elected as the Head Girl of Cranford Community College!
It is a great honour to have been elected as Cranford’s Head Boy. It has been my ambition ever since I was on the 2019 student panel, and I thank God that this longstanding goal of mine has finally come to fruition. I am forever grateful to Ms Agarwal and Mr Prunty, who deemed me worthy of this influential position, and with the support of such a strong leadership team, I am excited to see what lies in store for us as we do our best to represent Cranford’s student body. I understand that this role will be difficult, but I hope that my term as Head Boy and Leader of the Charites Committee, brings nothing but success to Cranford. I am eagerly looking forward to seeing how we will enhance our school profile to make Cranford an even more exceptional environment for students and staff alike.
2022-2023
Having been a student at this school since year 7, taking on this role seemed like the best way to give back to the school for supporting me along this journey and shaping me into the individual I am today. I am really looking forward to working with the whole leadership team to further better an already exceptional place of education and am confident in the strong team of students we have. One goal I am particularly motivated with is raising a greater engagement with STEM within the school community. This will allow the student body to have a better understanding of the world around us and will enable them to develop a range of skills and experiences so they can flourish into well rounded individuals. The STEM Committee and I have put together a plan for the next academic year, which involves a great number of extra-curricular challenges and activities that we are excited to share!
Satnam Curry (Deputy Head Boy - Wellbeing Committee)
Sanjana Bhola (Deputy Head Girl - PSHCE Ambassador)
Lastly, I will ensure that I am a good role model to be looked up to by the younger years, as this role requires being approachable and being able to work as part of a team, along with having confidence and being respectful. I believe these are important qualities all Cranford students should aim to have.
Furthermore, as Arts and Culture Committee leader, I hope to propose many amazing events which would include representations of different arts.
Having studied at Cranford since Year 7, I have been provided with such a tremendous amount of support and opportunities that have enabled me to flourish into the person I am today. Therefore, as one of the Deputy Head Girls, I would like to give back to the community by creating opportunities that involve the nourishment of younger years. As the Head of the Sports Committee, I want to particularly focus on increasing female participation in sports and participation in extra-curricular activities. My main aim is to help students succeed academically by creating opportunities to allow them to improve and maintain their physical well-being.
I am a suitable, positive, inspiring role model. I strongly believe that we, as the student leadership team, have the right determination to push the school to its best and encourage students to become great and independent individuals. My main aim is to make the school grow as a community for both teachers and students.
153 FORMSIXTH
Concluding my final years at Cranford as Deputy Head Girl is a privilege that I am extremely grateful for, and I look forward to fulfilling the role to the best of my ability.
Shenon Dias (Deputy Head Girl - Sports Committee)
As Deputy Head Girl, my main aim is to create a safe environment for all my peers, giving them a chance to fully express themselves, and as a result achieve their full potential.
As a result of the strong abilities of our committee members, we hope to host meaningful events that benefit us as sixth formers as well as other year groups. This also gives us an opportunity to enhance our soft skills such as teamwork and communication, which will benefit us later on in life.
My name is Sanjana, one of your new PSHCE Ambassadors. This role allows me to listen to students. I think it is important to advise and teach students about important life skills and by being a PSHCE Ambassador I will have important links with students across the school. I want to run clubs which focus on mental health and social well-being. I would like to make the school an even better place for everyone, teachers and students included.
Reemas Mohamed-Yusuf (Deputy Head Girl - Art and Culture Committee)
My name is Harsimran, I have just taken on the roles of PSHCE ambassador, STEM committee member and prefect. Although I’ve just started my position, I am very much looking forward to figuring out my responsibilities and supporting the school community. Within the few meetings we’ve already had we’ve had some great ideas about how to further enrich our school. One idea in development is the worry box. I’ve learnt to liaise with key staff members and have taken many tips and considerations that will inform my projects in the future.
I’m very grateful for the speed in which the STEM student team work and I am particularly looking forward to our upcoming project in July. Bath (PSHCE Ambassador)
Harsimran
W hen Cranford was approached in February 2021 by Bhogal Pharmacy about setting up a Covid vaccination centre on site we thought it would be open for about six months. Over a year later it is still open and has been designated a vaccination centre for the Autumn booster programme which will run until the end of December 2022. Since its opening, the centre has delivered over 50,000 vaccines and has proved invaluable in enabling our community to be better protected against Covid. The high-quality facility has been praised for its efficiency and was one of the few centres in the area to be licensed to vaccinate the 5- to 11-yearold Withcohort.thevaccination centre on site, we were able to ensure all our staff and students who wished to have the vaccine were able to do so easily.
Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher / Director of Community Partnerships & Income Generation)
154 Cranford Becomes a Vaccination Centre “Cranford Review” © 2006-2022 is a publication of Cranford Community College, distributed in printed copies, either available in PDF (digital format) to be downloaded from our school website: www.cranford.hounslow.sch.uk PARTNERSHIPSCOMMUNITY
