On Wednesday, pupils and parents in Year 9 attended the GCSE Options Evening. It is an important milestone for pupils in their educational journey, and I know they found the opportunity to review course content and hear about the process of selecting subjects extremely valuable.
During the week, I was delighted that some of our Year 11 scientists had the opportunity to be taught by our Head of Geography as she delivered a science lesson on seismic waves. She engaged pupils speaking about the vibrations generated by an earthquake, explosion or similar energetic sources within and along the surface of the earth.
An important part of our community outreach this year included the Wind Band visiting Limegrove. 18 members of the Senior School, including the Chamber Choir, entertained the local residents by singing a number of festive carols and handed out Christmas cards that had been written by our Year 7 pupils.
Mr Everitt
Year 11 Seismic Waves!
The Year 11 Triple Scientists had a guest teacher this week, when Miss Bayley, Head of Geography, took their lesson on seismic waves. Miss Bayley explained that her expertise and interest in this area stemmed from her Earth Sciences degree and pupils learned that both she and Mr Pulford had experienced earthquakes in Madeira and Panama respectively. Pupils were gripped with real world examples as well as some targeted exam questions.
Well done to all the Year 11 pupils and their teachers as they continue to work exceptionally hard until the end of term and then prepare for the mock exams in January.
Mr Pulford, Deputy Head, Academic
9FS Geography Debating Excellence
This week Year 9 pupils have been debating whether or not the Three Gorges Dam is a perfect example of sustainable design. There were five members of the jury and one judge chosen for their excellent contributions during the research phase. Both the 'for' and 'against' teams produced high quality research, delivered persuasive arguments and arranged themselves extremely professionally in our make-shift court room. The jury were given two votes each and the judge ten votes. A special mention to Miles K who made a balanced and fair judgement whilst also being authoritative to ensure order in his court. Overall, the 'for' team won due to their calm and collected responses to questions.
Well done 9FS - it was fantastic to see such brilliant contributions from the entire form.
Miss Bayley, Head of Geography
GCSE Options Evening
Year 9 pupils and their parents attended the GCSE Options Evening on Wednesday. They were given an in-depth insight into the range of subjects taught as well as the wealth of extra-curricular activities on offer.
A Christmas Carol Performance for Year 10
Our Year 10 pupils enjoyed a visit last Friday by The Globe Players to perform A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. They were joined by twenty pupils from Manor House to watch the three actors bring the story to life, helped by a snowy Christmas set of London and some Christmas carols. The Year 10s have been studying the novella this term as their 19th Century set text and this was an excellent opportunity to embed their understanding and appreciation of this most famous of Christmas ghost stories.
Mr Chapman
My congratulations to the Saxophone Quartet of Morgan D, Harry W, Joshua W and Daniel D, who gave a superb performance of ‘Londonderry Air’ (Danny Boy) during Upper Prep assembly. There is a direct link between this beautiful Irish melody and Cranmore. The melody was discovered over 150 years ago by Jane Ross who, at the time, was living in Londonderry. The lyrics that are sung to this folk tune were written by Fred Weatherly, a barrister and prolific songwriter, in 1913. Interestingly, Fred was the great uncle of Phil Weatherly, who taught History and was Director of Studies here at Cranmore.
My congratulations also go to Barnaby H, who performed the slow movement of Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto with a sense of poise and style during Senior assembly.
Visit to Limegrove Care Home
Some of the younger members of Senior Chamber Choir visited Limegrove earlier this week. They sang carols, distributed some Christmas cards the Year 7 pupils had made and took time to chat to the residents. One of the standout moments for the pupils was talking to a lady who has reached the grand age of 103 years old. She was very proud to tell the boys that she does not take any medicines. When asked what her secret to a long life was and she suggested that bacon and eggs for breakfast and glass of red wine in the evening certainly helped!
Mr Harris
Rotary Writing Competition
Following Cranmore pupils' participation in last year's Rotary Writing Competition, with notable successes (including a Regional Winner), pupils are encouraged to enter this year's competition. The title for written submissions - either prose or poetry - is Wonderful Water, and pupils of all ages are invited to enter. Full details are on the English section of the VLE.
This represents a wonderful opportunity for pupils to show off their creativity and imagination, and we will look forward to further success from our talented writers here at Cranmore.
Mr Lamport
The Year 8 pupils who have now completed the Renaissance Project met with Mr Heaver and Mr Pulford this week to reflect on the process, before they receive their certificates next week and ahead of their handover to the Year 7 pupils in the Spring Term. Many trips to museums and galleries took place, including to the Imperial War Museum, The Science Museum, The Natural History Museum and Tate Modern, as well as individual projects on diverse topics such as the behaviour of Orca whales and the Princes in the Tower. Well done to all the boys on their hard work.
Year 9 to Year 11 had their last rugby matches of the regular season this week. Cranmore's 1st XV saved a superb performance for their final match, winning 41-12 against City of London Freemans. Our U12s and U13s are almost at the half-way point of their season, with matches against St Paul's, Churcher's College and Shrewsbury House. Tomorrow, our Years 7 and 8 face Richard Challoner.
We had a golf U18 National Cup Regional Final on Wednesday. Two Year 10s and one Year 11 faced St George's which included Year 13 pupils. Although Cranmore played some great golf, the team just came up short at the prestigious Worplesdon Golf Club.
A Message from our Chaplaincy Team
This Week
This week we marked the beginning of the Church’s season of Advent - that wonderful period of preparation for the great feast of Christmas, when we remember the birth of our Saviour Jesus. At this time we hear the words from the prophet Isaiah who exhorted the people to prepare for their return, out of exile, to their home. Despite all the indications to the contrary, and despite the seeming impossibility of the return, Isaiah was filled with faith-filled hope that the time would come.
Through this season of Advent we are encouraged to spend time reflecting on the coming feast birth of Jesus, the Saviour, who came into our world to save us and to open for us the way to heaven. We are called to be people of hope. We are encouraged to live lives that are characterised by hope, and to develop a deep trust in the God who loves us and who always accompanies us through life, in the good times and the hard times, a God who removes our fears.
Let us wait for the Lord and make space this Advent for God.
