3 FEBRUARY 2025
Message from the Headmaster
On Saturday morning eight Cranmore teams competed against local rivals Rokeby in the annual Murray Cup. It was a joy to watch each team deliver a memorable performance en route to sweeping victories and Cranmore’s retention of the coveted trophy for another year.
This week, the school focus was on wellbeing in support of Children’s Mental Health Week culminating in the creation of a remarkable Well-BEE-ing display that can now be seen in the Reception area. The Well-BEE-ing collaboration featured contributions from all pupils and staff and is a reminder that we can work together to ensure that everyone feels positive about themselves and the environment that we all share.
Finally, today we welcomed a large number of external pupils to participate with our current Year 6 pupils in a host of exciting activities in preparation for joining the Senior School. Over 110 pupils worked together on teambuilding and problem-solving throughout the afternoon in Sport and Design before the revealing of their colourful Cranmore crest creation.
Celebrating Children’s Mental Health Week: A Whole School Well-Bee-ing Initiative
During this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week, our entire school community – from Nursery to Year 11, including staff, came together in a creative and meaningful way to highlight the importance of mental wellbeing.
As part of the initiative, every pupil and member of staff were encouraged to take part in a collaborative activity, colouring in a bee to represent themselves, symbolise unity, resilience, and positive mental health. Every bee, no matter how small, plays a vital part in the hive. It is a reminder that everyone has something valuable to offer. The bee was chosen as a representation of teamwork, perseverance, and the importance of looking after one another; values that resonate deeply within our school values.
This initiative not only encouraged creativity but also provided an opportunity for reflection, mindfulness, and discussions about mental health in a supportive environment. By engaging in this shared activity, we aimed to reinforce the message that mental well-being is something we should nurture together, just as bees thrive as a collective.
The completed bee hive will be displayed within the school, creating a powerful visual reminder that we are all part of a supportive and caring community. We are incredibly proud of the enthusiasm and engagement shown by our pupils and staff, and we hope this initiative sparks further conversations about mental health
Celebrating Children’s Mental Health Week: A Whole School Well-Bee-ing Initiative
A huge thank you to our fantastic Design and Technology department for their hard work in bringing the bee installation to life. Their creativity and dedication have transformed our collective effort into a stunning display that truly captures the spirit of Children’s Mental Health Week. Thank you to everyone who took part – we genuinely bee-lieve that small actions like these can make a big difference!
At the heart of the installation stands a beautiful wooden flower centrepiece, a symbol of our school’s values. Each leaf is etched with one of our core values – Intellect, Character, Compassion and of course Community –while at its centre, hidden in plain sight, is the word Faith. As a Catholic school, this subtle yet powerful detail holds deep meaning, a quiet reminder of the foundation that unites the Cranmore community.
Mr McGhee and Mrs Tindale
Congratulations to Jonathan L in Year 9, who has written an essay entitled How viable are the alternatives to antibiotic use for human illnesses and why are they needed? in response to the Year 9 research essay competition, an initiative created by the Perse School, Cambridge.
Jonathan chose his title from the science category. His essay was a very thoughtful and sophisticated body of work, which referenced the very latest research, demonstrating his research skills. Jonathan’s balanced response considered ‘phage therapy’, Bacteriocin’s pore formation process and CRISP-Cas9 Technology – a gene editing tool, pictured below:
Jonathan drew an optimistic conclusion, based on the success of the CRSPR technology in treating sickle cell syndrome and the ongoing research in this field. Based on this essay, I’m sure Jonathan could make a valuable contribution to that work in years to come - very well done!
Mr Pulford Deputy Head, Academic
The Murray Cup Win!
Last Saturday, The Murray Cup took place on The Henderson Fields. The Cup is an annual rugby event between Cranmore and Rokeby which has been running for nine years. Teams compete for points across age groups U9s to U13s to decide the overall winners. Throughout the morning, there were some very close matches and excellent rugby on display. After all eight matches were completed, the overall score was 8 - 0 to Cranmore. Well done to every player involved.
On Monday 3rd February, the U16 squash team (Omar S, Adam H, Jayden F, Ollie and Aayan A) travelled to the Surrey Sports Park in Guildford to compete in the Key Stage 4 National Squash tournament. The boys competed against Skinners School, Reeds, and The Petersfield School, knowing that if they won the group, they would qualify for the National Finals being held in Birmingham. The format of every point counting towards the overall match total required the boys to work hard and produce some outstanding shots. Having beaten The Petersfield School 5- 0 and Skinners 3-2, the boys needed a convincing win against Reeds to qualify. The team produced their best squash of the day to win 4-1, thus qualifying for Finals Day in March. Congratulations to the team and good luck in Birmingham.
Our U14s, U15s and U16s had football matches against Wetherby last week and Ewell Castle this week. Our U14A hockey team played in the next round of the National Cup, as well as our U15A hockey team in the ISA Cup which took place in the iconic Lee Valley Park.
Mr Hodgson, Director of Sport
