The Quest Academy - Newsletter - Spring 2019

NEWSLETTER

VOLUME 9

ISSUE 3 SPRING ‘19 Quest News

Quest News

Trips and Visits

Academy Day News

Sports News & Dates

I Principal's Message I Little Shop of Horrors

I 7 Year Journey I Attendance Breakfast I Biology Challenge I DHL Careers

I Poland Trip I Ski Trip I Boulogne trip I Bodyworlds

I Cadbury World I Chislehurst Caves I Mandela Academy I Science Museum

I Rugby I Football I Netball

Page 1

Pages 2-3

Pages 4-5

Pages 6-7

Page 8

Little Shop of Horrors

Principal’s Message As Easter approaches we look back on another wonderful term which has seen some remarkable trips: including to Krakow and Andorra, and this year’s fabulous production of Little Shop of Horrors.

Excellent examination results will always be at the forefront of our work, but these other experiences are also very important in the development of confident and capable young people.

We also wrote to you with details of our 7 Year Journey – highlighting some of the important elements of a well-rounded education that we commit to offering to ensure that we deliver our Trust’s commitment to an exceptional education for all. I hope that you found it useful and informative.

I want to recognise the hundreds of students in Year 11 & 13 who continue to work as hard as they can in advance of their upcoming examinations. All we want is for them to be the best versions of themselves and to be proud of their achievements on results day. Best of luck to all students taking exams in the coming months. A very big thank you as well to the staff for the many additional hours they have put in before and after school and during the holidays to run extra sessions for students.

With best wishes for the Easter break,

Mr A Crofts

The 4th Quest Academy show was the biggest and best yet!

With a smaller cast than last year, we created a tighter feeling where the group gelled quickly and there was nowhere to hide! The group have been amazing since the word “go”. Their attendance, attitude, behaviour, focus, commitment and professionalism have been ever present.

We were also lucky enough to have a cast consisting of some seasoned pros (Jamie & Amber), some who have come up through the ranks (Hope, Keira and Julia) and some stunning newbies (Tyler, Sheryl and Aimee)!

Alongside the individual on-stage performances, this show developed a back-room team rivalling the size of the cast. Thank you to all of them, with a special “nod” to Felix, Abby and Jay who helped push the production to a new creative height. Thanks too, to the company Scenetec, who delivered the amazing set.

The show was an unrivalled success with the cast performing five times in three days. Many people commented how they feel it was the best Quest production so far and sometimes it is simply rude to disagree!

G Kensit

The Quest Academy • Farnborough Avenue • South Croydon • CR2 8HD  020 8657 8935 www.thequestacademy.org.uk

ACADEMY NEWS Biology Challenge

7 Year Journey

Twenty-five students took part in the Biology Challenge on Wednesday 13th March 2019. The Biology Challenge is an online competition run by the Royal Society of Biology which tests students’ knowledge based on what they have been taught in lessons and their additional knowledge which may have been acquired through watching Biology programmes, the news and reading scientific magazines and books.

Earlier this term, we were delighted to officially launch The Quest 7 Year Journey: the unique and diverse range of quality additional activities that students enjoy during their secondary career with us so that they can develop the skills and experiences to lead successful and fulfilling adult lives.

Students spent sufficient time preparing for the competition by revising and working through two Biology Challenge past papers. By the end of the competition students had answered one hundred and ten questions split across two Biology papers. Six students performed exceptionally well with one student achieving 78/110 which was fantastic!

It was an exciting opportunity for our students and it was great to see that so many of them willingly pushed themselves out of their comfort zone.

N Omezi

Winter Concert

On the right you will find a copy of The Quest 7 Year Journey poster that is now in every classroom across the Academy. As of September 2019 it will be at the heart of the student planner, and in the coming weeks an interactive version will appear on the Academy’s website.

This, of course, is not an exhaustive flight path of all the fantastic work that goes on in the Academy every day, rather an overview of the highlights that we think makes the experiences we provide genuinely distinctive and transformative, a fulfilment of our motto in practice – learning changes lives.

We were delighted recently that the official Department for Education’s performance tables placed the achievements of our students in the top 30% of schools nationwide, and one of the top performing mixed comprehensive schools in Croydon at both KS4 and KS5. These outcomes and our Quest 7 Year Journey programme are indicative of our commitment to educating the whole child holistically, ensuring that each student succeeds academically and personally.

The dynamic and diverse array of additional extra and super curricular activities that have occurred this term alone will give you a flavour of how students are already receiving the benefit of The Quest 7 Year Journey in practice: music and drama trips to West End productions; Emergency Services Day for Year 8; a visit to Oxford University for Year 10; and the History Trip to Krakow, Poland.

B Russell

Attendance Breakfast At the end of the Autumn Term, pupils from Year 7 to 11 took part in Quest’s Winter Concert.

This showcased the Quest Choir, Ukulele club, and plenty of solo singers and instrumentalists.

Parents, friends and teachers alike enjoyed a wonderful show including everything from ‘Journey’ to ‘Winter Wonderland’, with refreshments kindly provided by the 6th Form council.

A R Adams

Page 02 Volume 9 Issue 3

The Year 9 inter-cohort attendance competition crowned 9.5 as the Autumn 2 Tutor Group Breakfast Winners.

Every half term, tutor groups compete for this prize, where they miss a line up and enjoy a ‘bring and share’ breakfast with their peers and Tutor for having the best attendance in their cohort.

Well-done to 9.5 and Miss Mcleod, for being the Autumn Term 2 Tutor Group Attendance winners.

A big well-done to 9.1 and Miss Cooke also, for being the Spring Term 1 Tutor Group Attendance winners.

ACADEMY NEWS DHL Careers In mid February, the Academy was visited by representatives from DHL, the world’s largest logistics company, who delivered interactive careers and enterprise sessions to groups in Year 7 and Year 10.

Through a range of thought-provoking and informative activities and presentations, students were able not only to see how their knowledge and skills from their Mathematics and enterprise lessons could be applied in reallife contexts, but also how to pursue a career in one of the most important global businesses.

B Russell

First Give Year 8 have recently finished the First Give programme. Each form worked hard to fundraise money for their chosen charity and presented on their social issue with confidence and vigour. An independent panel of judges selected 8.1 as the winners. They have raised £1,153 pounds for their charity ‘Croydon Epilepsy Society’. Well done Year 8!

Malachi in Year 8 summarised the experience by saying, “It was a fun and it showed me that it’s good to share and give to others. Everyone should have a chance to get involved with charity. In the rest of my years in Quest I will do more stuff for charity and stay in contact with my chosen charity to see how I can continue to help them.”

B Minns

NCOP – UCAS and University Preparation

Impact Day

The Quest Academy is part of the National Collaborative Outreach Project (NCOP), which involves a number of students from Years 9 to Year 13.

Nine year 11 students attended SOAS University in London on Tuesday 2nd October “Goal setting event” and action planning to enable smooth progression to 6th Form and Higher Education.

Thursday 31st January was Year 8 Impact day.

All students in Year 8 spent an exciting day taking part in a variety of workshops, which started off with a launch assembly by the London Fire Brigade. This explained the role of each organisation they would be learning about during the day and helped set the scene of their importance in our current society.

The students then joined a carousel of presentations and activities by several different organisations including The Metropolitan Police and Specialist Firearms command where they had the opportunity to take part in a court room role play. They also took part in an active session about Road Safety and took part in a quiz ran by the NHS Sexual Health team.

Their final session was with Valour Youth who highlighted the significance of Self Esteem and ASB. Students thoroughly enjoyed the day, taking the opportunity to ask lots of excellent questions as they watched real life visual clips, and even had the opportunity to dress up in fire fighters outfit!

C Bennett

We arrived at SOAS university and were greeted by the University ambassadors.

The day began with a welcome presentation, followed by a SOAS quiz.

Ambassadors from Roehampton, St. Mary’s and SOAS talked about their experiences at University, their courses, life on campus and accommodation.

After lunch we all had the privileged to listen to an under graduate about his experiences whilst he was undertaking his PhD in Thailand which was fascinating. The ambassadors took us on a tour around the University campus, the Brunei Gallery, Senate House and the fantastic library.

Our students were very interactive, gave excellent answers in the quiz and were really good at debating. All wanted to know. when the next event was.

M D’Mello

Visit to Tate Modern Gallery On Friday 22nd of March, the year 11 GCSE Art students visited the Tate Modern Gallery and had a walking photography session along the Southbank.

The aim of the trip was to gain some inspiration for their externally set exam project “Reflections”.

All students found the trip very useful, viewing many famous pieces of Art, and were able to take a range of photographs which they have already started to use to take their projects forward.

All students were extremely well behaved, and we wish them the best of luck in their upcoming Art exam in April.

R Page

Volume 9 Issue 3 Page 03

TRIPS AND VISITS “It’s Behind You!”

On Wednesday 19th December 78 Year 7 pupils took the tram to Wimbledon to watch the pantomime ‘Aladdin’.

1,000 spectators were treated by the likes of Paul Merton and Pete Firman in some hilarious moments and the 3D spectacle drew excited screams from the audience.

All in all, everyone had a great time and the occasion set the students up perfectly for the festive season.

G Kensit

Wicked

Over 30 students travelled into London’s West End to see one of the longest running and most popular musicals, “Wicked”, as part of their GCSE Music and Drama courses.

Telling the background story behind the witches of the Land of Oz, students were engrossed by the award winning stage design, special effects and performances.

As many of the students prepared to take to the Main Hall stage in our very own annual production, “Little Shops of Horrors”, the experience was really inspiring and motivating, giving them an insight into the challenges and rewards of being a West End performer.

B Russell

Page 04 Volume 9 Issue 3

Quest Ski Trip Feb 2019 52 students and 7 staff travelled 812 miles to Andorra for the academy’s first ever ski trip.

After checking-in and grabbing some lunch, we took a coach to the ski hire shop and had all of our skis and boots fitted; you could feel the excitement rise as the students enjoyed snowball fights whilst we waited.

We awoke the next day to be met with clear blue skies which remained for the rest of the week. We took the coach to El Tarter and headed to the nursery slopes for our first lessons. The students were taught the basics of skiing; snowplough, turning and stopping and by end of the first day had already shown massive progress.

The second day followed a similar pattern with groups becoming more adept at the basics and now had an understanding of how to use the various ski lifts, some seemed to take to this better than others as I watched with glee as both Miss Khanan and Miss Joomun fell over whilst disembarking the small chair lift, whilst Josh was dragged up the button lift on his stomach as he failed to understand that it was meant to be sat on! By the end of day 2 the groups had been assessed and students had been placed into groups based on ability, this meant that the top groups would be heading up the mountain on day 3. The evening saw us go to the Caldea Spa which was fantastic, we enjoyed a swim (indoor and outdoor) as well as various steam rooms, Jacuzzis, saunas and ice baths, a much needed rest after a tough day on the slopes.

On day 3 most groups had now experienced the large 6 seater chair lifts which took them form the ski school all the way up to the highest point of Tossal De La Llosada at 2560m and skied a variety of blues and some reds back down to the base of El Tarter at 1710m. By now everyone had made enormous progress and all were comfortable and confident using the lifts whilst the top groups were beginning to get to grips with parallel turns. With the increased difficulty of slopes came the inevitable falling over, Ralphie claimed the prize for best crash as he somehow managed to leave both skis behind as he flew through the air superman style, however, no one was exempt as everyone crashed multiple times though everyone got up with a smile on their face and there were no serious injuries sustained!

On days 4 and 5 every single group had skied from the top to the bottom and everyone was becoming more and more confident in their ability, the top groups were now showing excellent parallel turns and some were even performing small jumps! We had a great evening bowling on the Thursday evening and the week was finished off with a good dinner at The Panorama Hotel across town before we boarded our coach for the epic journey home.

As always the coach journey began with a session of ‘coachaoke’ in which students and staff had the opportunity to sing their favourite songs through the microphone. The best performances of the week came from Aimee, Courtney, Keira and Billy though Mr Kensit’s and Mr Pearce’s voice left an indelible mark on us all!

The students were a credit to the academy and absolutely fantastic in some very trying situations, especially during both 20+ hour coach journeys on which we had no complaining or moaning, they all tried their hardest on the slopes and made enormous progress.

Huge thanks must go to our coach drivers, Frank and Dean, and to the staff who gave up their holidays to help the students have an amazing trip: Miss Khanan, Ms Lipscombe, Miss Joomun, Miss Thomas, Mr Kensit, Mr Pearce and Mr Bevan. What an amazing trip, we can’t wait for next year!

T Bevan

TRIPS AND VISITS Bodyworlds

Poland Trip Over the weekend of the 7th-10th February a group of 16 students between Years 8-13 travelled to the historic city of Krakow, Poland, on the History Department’s annual international trip.

Our visit commenced with a 3-hour guided walking tour of the city's major historic sites. In exploring the Jewish quarter, students visited some of the oldest synagogues in Europe, learning about the lives of Jewish people in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. After a much needed hot chocolate break to help power us through the crisp and cold temperatures, we explored the former World War Two Jewish ghetto in the south of the city, discovering how Poland and Krakow changed as a result of Nazi occupation from 1939 onwards. After a traditional Polish lunch of traditional meats and cheese, the students then enjoyed a guided tour of the Oscar Schlinder Factory Museum, where we discovered about life in wartime occupied Poland, the development of Nazi racial policy and the Final Solution, along with the true-life story behind the famous 1993 Steven Speilberg film. Our afternoon saw us witness sunset in the Medieval old town, including the Wavel, one of Poland’s most important landmarks, and the Main Square, the largest in Europe, where students explored the main market stalls and cafes that lined the picturesque gothic setting.

On Saturday morning we travelled to the Auschwitz Birkenau Museum, where we were guided around the largest Nazi concentration camp, the site where over 1.1 million men, women and children were murdered. Students were given an insight into the development of the camp, its deliberate design and what it can tell historians about the nature of the Nazi regime, the Holocaust and humanity itself.

In the afternoon we travelled to the Wieliczka Salt Mine, a UNESCO world heritage site that has been in operation since the 13th century.

Students travelled 130 metres underground to explore 2% of the vast 2,400 acre complex, including a visit to the stunning chapel, before returning to the historic centre of Krakow for one last hot chocolate and traditional Polish cuisine for dinner.

A sombre and, at times, haunting experience, students acted with professionalism and maturity throughout, asking profound and thought-provoking questions on the past, in order for them to develop a more detailed understanding of some of the most challenging and complex periods of 20th century European history.

B Russell

A small group of Year 12 students had the fantastic opportunity to visit the Bodyworld Museum in Piccadilly Circus London on 30th January.

It was a rare and interesting experience that really deepened the pupils' learning.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the visit and took some valuable information away. They got to see muscular, skeletal and cardiovascular systems in real life form and the effects of lifestyle choices as well as the development of humans from birth.

A Cherrett

Donmar Warehouse On Tuesday 22nd January twentythree Year 9 GCSE Drama students were able to brave the snow and travel into London to the Donmar Warehouse.

They watched the highly acclaimed Sweat, which is a gripping piece and was an excellent introduction to these new dramatists.

They also had a workshop around the themes of the play the week before so all in all gained a complete experience with a close partner of the Quest – The Donmar Warehouse.

G Kensit

Christmas Carol On Monday 14th January a group of Year 10 and 12 students were able to go to the Old Vic to watch A Christmas Carol.

It was a jovial occasion where Christmas was brought to life. The students behaved wonderfully and thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the festivities the show offered.

Volume 9 Issue 3 Page 05

ACADEMY DAY NEWS Visit to Cadbury World

Chislehurst Caves A short day trip to Chislehurst Cave with years 78-9-10 students, lead by Mr. Trehern, most of it in good cheer, especially the commuting.

Inside the cave we got scared by the darkness and couldn’t quite keep quiet enough to enjoy the awesome echoes of the giant drumming in pitch black!

On the way in, we were met by the druidic priestess, and the entertainer presuming to be our guide. Outside, it was beautiful to witness spring flowers bursting already.

On Thursday 7th March, 33 students boarded the coach at the early time of 7:30am to begin the long drive up to Birmingham.

Students and staff were so excited because they were going to the number One destination for all chocolate lovers: Cadbury World!

Armed and sustained by two free bars of chocolate, Quest students journeyed through the rainforest, learning where chocolate comes from and ended up at the chocolate factory and the town of Bournville created by the Cadbury family many years ago.

We followed the journey of a chocolate bean as it is made into chocolate and then went into the factory to see how many of the Cadbury favourites are still made to this day.

Students had the opportunity to write their name in chocolate and learnt how to cool it down by hand by tossing the chocolate over and over. After a journey through the magical world of Cadabra, walking down Advertising Avenue and meeting the Cadbury Gorilla, we ended the day by taking a ride on a rollercoaster in the 4D Chocolate Adventure.

After consuming and buying what felt like our body weight in chocolate, we made our way home, satisfied and slightly hyper!

E Thomas

O Spector

Crystal Innovation Centre A group of Year 8 students travelled to Victoria Docks to explore the Siemens Crystal Innovation centre, which is an exhibition on the future of sustainable cities.

Here they had the opportunity to explore many different exhibitions including the discovery of sustainable inventions from around the world and future solutions to the global energy and water problems. Students were able to have a go at creating their own kinetic energy and watch an animation of how cities have changed over time. They also had the opportunity to build their own virtual sustainable home through an interactive game.

Following this the students enjoyed their lunch sat outside, overlooking the London Docklands and Emirates Skyline before returning back to Croydon.

C Bennett

Lee Valley White Water Centre On Thursday 7th March we made the hour and a half journey round the M25 to the Lee Valley White Water Centre for a day of raft building and kayaking. We checked in, collected our wetsuits and boots and met with our instructors.

The groups were split in two, one raft building in the morning and kayaking in the afternoon and vice versa. Despite the wind and cold water, the students had a wonderful time with most seeming to spend more time in the water than on it!

The students were impeccably behaved with more than one member of the public commenting on how lovely they were.

What a great day, we can’t wait to go back!

T Bevan

Page 06 Volume 9 Issue 3

ACADEMY DAY NEWS Mandela: The Official Exhibition

The Museum of Docklands Trip On his first trip to The Museum of Dockland, Canary Wharf, Rushane Francis commented, “That is the best trip that I have ever been on!”

Students were intrigued to learn how archivists of a small piece of Roman mosaic started the process in developing this fascinating museum.

On the 7th March, Quest Academy pupils made their way across London to the Nelson Mandela Exhibition at South Bank.

The immersive multi-media experience explores how and why Mandela chose to walk the path of reconciliation rather than of conflict; charting Mandela’s life from beginning to end. Students were fantastic ambassadors for the school, asking lots of questions and behaving beautifully.

We ended the day with a sunny stroll down the South Bank and some ‘artisan’ fish and chips.

B Minns

Science Museum Trip

The interactive displays fascinated the students and enabled them to discover how the trade in sugar enslaved Africans had shaped London. Learning about this in a building that is central to this story was particularly poignant. It was built at the time of the transatlantic slave trade, to store the sugar from the West Indian plantations where enslaved men, women and children worked.

The artefacts on display in relation to the development of a city being transformed by vast new docks were particularly appealing. We learnt how the early 19th century brought great change to London's river and port. A huge docks complex was built on the Isle of Dogs, new bridges spanned the Thames and a tunnel was dug beneath it Our students loved Exploring an interactive model of the dark alleyways of London’s Sailortown. This immersive display recreates the atmosphere of Sailortown. This ramshackle London district, close to the docks, centred around Wapping, Shadwell and Ratcliffe.

The social and working history of this area is richly documented and we enjoyed seeing the vehicles, food packaging, architectural and building fragments, street furniture, shop fronts and interior fittings from a variety of London. The vast array of trades in London represented here is impressive: clock and watchmaking, wheelwrights, glass-making, silk-weaving, braidmaking, shoe-making and repairing and silversmiths.

Amid a rapidly changing social and cultural demographic and possibly most importantly, the digital revolution, this trip to The London Docklands Museum was an inspiration.

On Wednesday 7th March we went on a fabulous trip to the Science Museum in Kensington. This was a great experience allowing us to see and learn about multiple things such as space, telephones, airplanes. We also had the opportunity to visit the Science museum shop where some students bought molecular balls and other cool items.

My favourite part of the museum was the space gallery as it was really interesting and realistic. It also showed you all the spies that were in space and the suits that they wore.

One of the best things about the space gallery was the electronic phone where it sent you on a mission and you got to pretend to talk to commanders.

We all loved the Science museum and would strongly suggest you go there to visit.

Nagnouma Conde, Year 7

L Mcleod

“School of Rock” A fabulous time was had by all on Academy Day when a group of us were fortunate to attend the musical School of Rock at the New Theatre, Drury Lane.

By the end of the show, students where off their seats clapping and singing.

The weather was on our side, albeit a little windy but that didn’t deter our students from enjoying the whole day.

We had enough time before the show to visit M&M World in Leicester Square where students purchased chocolates for their theatre visit, we then walked along to Covent Garden and enjoyed the many street entertainers.

Even though it was a long day, students were in good spirits to the end, they were impeccably behaved and a credit to our Academy, it was a pleasure enjoying the day with them.

K Jeffrey

Volume 9 Issue 3 Page 07

SPORTS FOCUS SPORTS ROUNDUP

RUGBY The Under 16 boys’ rugby team beat Harris Crystal Palace in a thrilling game on 12th February. The game ebbed and flowed with Harris scoring first only for Quest to hit back quickly for a half-time score of 10-10. Quest then played the best rugby of the match with a thrilling conversion giving Quest a 2-point lead with only 2 minutes remaining. A lastminute penalty sealed the game 27-22 to Quest.

NETBALL On 5th February, both the Year 10 and Year 8 netball teams played Norbury Manor. The Year 10 girls had a nervous start so were trailing by 4 goals by half time. The second half was better with the team scoring a goal per quarter and only conceding a goal per quarter. The Year 8 team started strong scoring 3 goals and conceding 1. In the final half the girls lost some focus and made a few more errors. Overall the final score was 3-2 which was a good win for a team that has a lot of potential.

FOOTBALL The Year 7 boy’s football team continued their unbeaten season with a vital win against Harris Crystal Palace A in a home league on 12th March. The team’s toughest game so far but Quest managed to win thanks to goals from the ever-impressive duo Subby N and Nathan N. This leaves Quest on the verge of clinching the C division title with only Meridian High left to play. The boys have won all 5 of their league games so far.

The Year 8 Quest Academy football team continued their fine start to the league season with a convincing win against Riddlesdown Bs 8-0 on on 12th February. This result leaves Year 8 with a great chance of winning the B league having recorded a 6-0 and an 8-0 victory in their opening two league games.

R Wilder

T Bevan On 11th December, the Year 8 Quest rugby squad was ready to take on Orchard Park. Quest capitalised on its backline strength with an early try and conversion just minutes into the first half. As the second half progressed, Orchard Park managed a number of breaks, but commitment and ferocious tackling ensured the defensive line remained intact. A final score of 67-17 was a fantastic first result of the year.

The Year 9 netball team played Thomas More on 12th February, making a brilliant start with 5 goals in the first quarter. By half time the score was 9-6 to Quest. Thomas Moore found a better defensive strategy by the last quarter making it difficult for Quest to score.

The final whistle went with a score of 10-7.

A Boundy

A Cherrett

Important dates for your diary End of Spring Term: Friday 5th April 2019 Easter Holiday: Monday 8th - 22nd April 2019 Start of Summer Term: Tuesday 23rd April 2019 May Bank Holiday: Monday 6th May 2019 Half Term Holiday: Monday 27th – Friday 31st May 2019 End of Summer Term: Tuesday 23rd July 2019 Summer Holiday: Wednesday 24th July 2019 – Monday 2nd September 2019 (INSET day) Start of Autumn Term 2019: Tuesday 3rd September 2019 Events Thursday 4th April – Year 12 &13 Parents’ Evening

Page 08 Volume 9 Issue 3

Thursday 4th April – Year 9 & 10 Immunisations 23rd-26th April Year 13 Mock Exams Wednesday 24th April 5.30pm-7.00pm – Induction Evening Thursday 25th April – Year 11 Parents’ Evening Wednesday 1st May 3.00pm-4.00pm – Year 8 Options Fair Thursday 2nd May 4.00pm-7.00pm – Year 8 Parents’ Evening Thursday 9th May 4.00pm-7.00pm – Year 9 Parents’ Evening Thursday 16th May 4.00pm-7.00pm – Year 8 Options Evening ACADEMY AT WORK TOURS Monday 1st April Monday 13th May Monday 10th June