On Saturday morning, I was delighted to watch some of the Cranmore Year 8 teams begin the rugby season with great enthusiasm and sportsmanship during their triangular competition against Reigate Grammar and Royal Alexandra and Albert School. Wins were plentiful for Cranmore, and it made for a promising start to the season.
Earlier this week, we extended a warm welcome to almost seventy external applicants who were completing 11+ assessments for entry to our Senior School. They had the opportunity to experience a busy morning at Cranmore, and the feedback from the children and their families was extremely positive. Also, throughout the week, we had further assessments for scholarship awards in Art, Drama, Music and Sport. I know that both the external applicants and our current pupils greatly enjoyed the opportunity to display their many talents.
Mr Everitt
Rehearsals have begun for this year's Senior production of Oliver! The cast are hard at work, preparing for what we hope will be a superb show. This week the cast have been blocking the first interaction between Oliver and The Artful Dodger and the song Consider Yourself.
If you would like to see MOOOORRREEE!! Join us in the Cranmore auditorium on 19th and 20th March 2025.
In addition, I am delighted to announce the start of Cranmore Actors Guild in January- This will take place on Monday mornings from 8am to 8.25am and will be an opportunity for any student to explore, rehearse and perform extracts of plays with a view to an end-of-year showcase.
Mr Penfold, Head of Drama
11+ Entrance Examinations
It was wonderful to see so many Year 6 pupils coming to Cranmore on Monday as part of their entrance assessments. After the formal assessments, they were able to engage in a variety of exciting activities, including team building, interviews with our Senior Leadership Team, DT workshops and Computer Science lessons.
Cross-Country Regionals
Having qualified at the County stage, the cross-country team made the long journey to the Judd school in Kent for the regional round of the ESAA Cross-Country Cup. They competed against schools from all over the SouthEast of England. The pupils ran really well over a very tough 7km course and they ended up finishing 12th in a very high standard race.
Our U13s 1st XI football team played in the Surrey Cup semi-final this week. Despite scoring a quick goal after just a few minutes, the team unfortunately lost 2-1.
Football Surrey Cup
Rugby
Our U13s and U12s had a fantastic start to their rugby season playing against Reigate Grammar, Royal Alexander School and Cranleigh. Congratulations to our U13 A & B teams who went unbeaten on the opening weekend. Our U14s played against St Paul's and U15s against Glyn school. The U16s had their National Cup match versus Whitgift. A tightly contested match saw Whitgift progress to the next round. This weekend, we have 6 teams playing against Ewell Castle, from U12s to U15s.
Swimming Gala versus Downsend
Last Friday evening, Downsend school visited us for a swimming gala. The gala consisted of age groups U9s to U13s, with over 35 races including 12 relays. The gala was very tight throughout with both schools swimming well. However, it was Cranmore that came out on top, winning 158 to 150 points. Well done to all involved.
Mr Hodgson, Director of Sport
Surrey Schools
On Sunday 17th November, 20 boys represented the school at the Surrey Schools Championships held at Aldershot. An early start for the Year 1 to Year 6 skiers saw the boys arrive at 8am, with racing beginning just after 9am. Out of 74 junior skiers, Jonty, Otis, Luke L and Mark ML won 1st place. Samuel B, Harry S, Rafferty C-D and Hugo P all performed very well, but missed out with a couple of missed gates. Samuel B won a medal for the 3rd fastest junior on the day. Well done to all those who competed.
The afternoon, open to skiers in Years 7 to 13, saw the three senior teams arrive with two out of the three teams finishing on the podium. Max T, Leon G, Jacob S and Mathias P came second in the Year 7 to 9 category and Sam S, Rocco H, Aidan H and Freddie B came third in the Year 10 to 13 category; this was an impressive achievement given that they were racing against children in Year 13. Toby H, Oliver V-W, Jack P and Finley G-S all enjoyed their first race experience which will stand them in good stead for the future. Well done to all involved.
Sandown training
Ski club continues on Monday nights at Sandown, led by Sandown coaches and our coach Christian J. If your child would like to be involved, please email Mr Barson at max.barson@cranmore.org
Mr Barson, Head of Skiing
A Message from our Chaplaincy Team
This Week
This Week we start looking at a number of Saints who are honoured and important across the Trust. We turn our attention to St Ignatius of Loyola, the famous 16th Century Spanish saint. We have been focussing on three key features of his work.
Firstly, we recalled that while he had a promising career as a soldier before him, a severe injury - by a cannonball no lessmeant that Ignatius spent an enforced year recovering, during which time he read, reflected, prayed, wrote and began to recognise his call to be a warrior for Christ. His experience reminds us that however painful an experience, we are always encouraged to see such events as possible opportunities where God is providing for us an opening to a new direction.
Ignatius, along with a group of similarly minded friends, founded the Society of Jesus, now known by their more popular name as the Jesuits. We were reminded that God rarely calls us to work in isolation. God calls us to be community, and to act as community. It is reassuring that this is our value this year across the Trust. Let us encourage each other to act as a community.
May St Ignatius continue to encourage and inspire us in our journey through life.
Soup
Monday
Main Locally sourced pork sausages & onion gravy
Vegetarian
Sides
Additional
Jacket potato & beans
Mild beef chilli con carne served in a taco & dips / Jerk chicken drumstick
Plain pasta & tomato sauce
Roasted pork loin with Yorkshire puddings & apple sauce
Freshly baked pepperoni pizza with Italian style salad
Traditional battered fish fillet or fish fingers
Dessert
Vegetarian style sausages & onion gravy
Mashed potato
Broccoli / sweetcorn
Quorn & bean chilli
Vegetable rice
Roasted carrots / Mediterranean vegetables
Jacket potato & beans
Plain pasta & tomato sauce
Jacket potato & beans
No meat meatballs in a tomato sauce
Roast potatoes/ mixed vegetables
Freshly baked cheese & tomato pizza
Jacket wedges/ sweetcorn
Mac ‘n’ cheese with chef’s salad
Chips/peas/ baked beans
Chocolate cake with chocolate sauce
Rocky road
Shortbread biscuit
Items in Italic - Sourced from F Conisbee’s, our local butcher
