Cranford Review March / 2014
Mayor’s London Schools
Gold Club
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ranford Community College was inducted into Mayor of London’s ‘Schools Gold Club’ at the London Mayor’s Education Conference on 22nd November 2013. The awarding of Gold School status was the climax of this prestigious conference with keynote speakers including London Mayor Boris Johnson, Rt Hon Michael Gove MP Secretary of State for Education and a host of top international speakers. The Mayor’s London Schools Gold Club is a new, annual scheme, which celebrates and shares exceptional practice in London’s primary and secondary schools. Gold Club members are schools that have succeeded against the odds in improving pupils’ aspirations and achievements. The scheme champions these exceptional London schools with a Mayoral Award for 2013, works with them to identify what has made the difference for their school and helps them share this practice and their experience with other London schools. The Gold Club is based on the belief that all schools can aspire to attain excellence for all their pupils, whatever their circumstances. A school-to-school learning programme allows all schools across London to learn from Gold Club schools’ good practice in “bucking the trend” – particularly those that are overcoming factors of poverty, disadvantage and low attainment for their pupils. Cranford is one of only 26 secondary schools in London and the only one in Hounslow invited to become members of the Gold Club this year, out of the 919 secondary schools in London – this puts Cranford in the top 3% of London schools in this honourable category. As current membership is based on three years’ performance up 2012, Cranford is optimistic that the achievements in 2013 will mean that the school is likely to be invited to retain membership next year and to continue sharing its excellent practice with other London schools. In addition to the extensive high quality seminar programme that Cranford will contribute to, we also look forward to working with our Gold School partners and the London Mayor’s Office to develop further initiatives to raise standards in all London schools. Cranford has already been asked to participate in the development of the London Curriculum, an initiative to develop the use of London and its rich resources to stimulate and inspire young people. Kevin Prunty (Headteacher)
Physical Education Events 2013 “All Schools” Rugby Programme “My name is Ramash and I represent the school in rugby. Before the “All Schools” programme started, I was never really interested in rugby. The programme pushed me to a new level and I found myself playing a sport that I had never dreamed of. Many members of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) have come to our school, watching us play rugby and giving us a few tips and techniques such as getting down low to clear out a ruck. Because of this opportunity, I was selected by the PE department to help launch the Rugby World Cup 2015. This was one of the most amazing and extraordinary moments of my life as not only did I meet a former England rugby player Lawrence Dallaglio, but I was also on national TV. If it weren’t for this programme, I would have never been sponsored by the RFU. I would highly recommend rugby to anyone”. Ramash Arib (year 9)
“Some people might say that rugby is not the best sport. The reason I chose rugby is because it has taught me discipline and maturity; also it is fun. You make new friends via rugby and you get to meet interesting people such as Lawrence Dallaglio and I got to see the Rugby World Cup because of the programme set up by the RFU”. Saras Dhiman (year 9)
“All School” Rugby club recruitment workshops am a year 7 rugby player and I play for Cranford Community College. It was great to be with the RFU (Rugby Football Union) workshop. There were 4 workshops. The first one was all about opinions and what you think about rugby. The second one was to persuade you to join a rugby club and in that activity they gave a wristband that said, “TEAMWORK, RESPECT, ENJOYMENT, DISIPLINE AND SPORTSMAN-SHIP” and this was interesting. The third workshop was a quiz to do with the history of rugby with a bonus question and if you won the bonus question you would get a rugby ball. Last but not least, was all about the environment and how we care about rugby. For that workshop we had got a RFU pen. After we had heard how it feels to be in a rugby club outside of school. It was a really interesting workshop. Deepak Ballagon (year 7) 2
Rugby Shirt Design
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Twickenham was a great experience. Along with walking on the ground of our rugby heroes, we got a chance to design and finalise our school rugby jersey. To make the jersey we had to see examples of previous jerseys of other schools. We started off with a basic idea of the crane’s face coming round the front of the shirt from the back. Then we chose the colouring. As our school uniform colour was maroon we tried to find a colour not too light and not too dark. Black, maroon and white were the main colours in the jersey. Talvir Plahe and Davinder Gill (year 8)
Posts in the Park 14 of Cranford’s year 9 students were invited to take part in the national launch of “Posts in the Park” at Inwood Park. This is a joint initiative between the RFU and the Rugby World Cup 2015. The event included a coaching session with Lawrence Dallaglio and was filmed by Sky and BBC. Two of our students, Jade Sidhu and Kulbir Maras were interviewed. “Posts in the Park” was a great experience. When we arrived we had a go at kicking the rugby ball over the post and we all worked together to ensure we all tried and had fun doing it. Soon after that Lawrence Dallaglio arrived and we asked him questions about why he wanted to get into rugby and why he choose that sport out of the others. Then we got into pairs and started playing games with Lawrence Dallaglio. It was an experience of a lifetime meeting Lawrence Dallaglio and having a chance to get into rugby. Klea Koxha (year 9)
“17th September 2013, that is one of the most memorable days ever. (It was also my birthday); I went to Inwood Park in Hounslow and got to meet Lawrence Dallaglio, former England rugby player and world cup winner. Not only did I meet him but had the chance to play a bit of rugby with him too. I was chosen to be spoken to by the media about the experience. I said to the media it was, “one of the best moments ever and truly unforgettable’’. Kulbir Maras (year 9)
Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity Match Ball Boys and Girls
In
the autumn term 2013, a few of us were given the opportunity to travel to Twickenham with Mr Box to help at the Oxford versus Cambridge Varsity match. This is one of the oldest fixtures in the rugby calendar, so it was exciting to get to be a part of it. It was an amazing experience, and I was the first girl to officially be selected as a ball girl in the whole history of rugby matches at Twickenham Rugby Stadium. We were given a tour of the stadium, pitch and changing rooms which was a privilege as even Mr Box has never walked on Twickenham pitch. Being a ball girl at the Oxford versus Cambridge Varsity Match at Twickenham Rugby Stadium was an honour, which I only understood afterwards. A while back we were given lessons on rugby basics and I have to admit I was very intrigued by the sport. I had never seen a
game of rugby before (not a full one anyway) nor had I played full contact rugby at this point. When I went to the match I saw rugby for a lot more than I had before, where I had seen violence, I saw art and grace and only then did I understand just how much discipline it takes. I used to see rugby as just a way to pin someone down and not get told off but after seeing it live and from a position where I could even hear players and the referee conversing, I realised just how little violence there is. I wouldn’t describe rugby as a soothing sport either but take, for example, a scrum I never realised just how much organisation there is. Looking at the Oxford and Cambridge scrums I was amazed, not only were they quick but they moved together like a well-oiled machine. One of my personal highlights of the match was seeing this player who had been injured getting first aid but when he saw another player running for a try and he was the only defender nearby, he literally tackled the guy from what looked like a very painful position, while his other leg still wasn’t too good and was just sort of limping behind him; truly inspiring. On another note I was also honoured to learn that I was the first official ball girl of the varsity match and I honestly still can’t believe that I was about to turn the opportunity down. From that day on I have vowed that whatever opportunity I get I will follow up because I had got into the habit of saying no to things and then the people who did go and do them come back and tell me how amazing it was, or even if they didn’t like it, I start thinking- I should’ve gone to that. If I had said no to this, I would have regretted it. Bushra Khalfan (year 9) 3
WFactor
Cranford Celebrates
Black History Month 2013 October is the month dedicated to celebrating Black History Culture and this year students working in WFactor Drama, Rock Choir, and Street Dance decided to mark the event by creating a series of performance pieces in recognition of this very important celebration. Students from years 7-13 worked for six weeks alongside staff to devise original work in visual and performance arts, which they presented on Wednesday 22nd October 2013 to parents, staff and students as part of a Promenade Theatre experience. The event began with the Rock Choir performing a number of modern and spiritual songs including, “Stand By Me” and “We Shall Overcome”. This was followed by a drama performance using a montage of scenarios reflecting various apartheid stories and resolutions, with a clear message about equality. In the Concert Hall, two street dance pieces combining the modern genre of street dance
and storytelling through contemporary dance to a backdrop of film extracts and footage of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream”, gave a powerful and emotive message. The final performance drew upon written and visual work created by students, with original poetry writing, some street art and a soundscape with “Talking Head” videos by various students and staff including PC Danny McIntosh, about their own views and life experiences. The audience were then invited to add a wish message to the “Freedom Tree” which gave a fitting conclusion to a thought provoking event.
Jessica Joyce (WFactor Co-ordinator and Events Manager)
Cranford’s Knitters and Age UK Big Knit
At
the beginning of autumn term 2013, Cranford’s Wfactor knitting group joined the national challenge to knit hats to support Age UK initiative. Hats were made to fit Innocent Smoothie bottles and sold through various supermarket outlets with 25p from each sale going to Age UK. During the winter months many older people struggle to keep warm, pay their bills and take care of themselves. It is hoped Cranford’s knitters in some small way contributed to ensuring the money raised went to help keep thousands of older people across the UK keep warm and healthy during the chilly winter months.
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Cranford Street Festival 2013 celebrates new talent
In
September 2013, Cranford began an exciting new venture involving staff, students and invited guests to get the school day started with a buzz. Two new performances spaces, “The Spot” and “The Shed” were created to encourage live music and entertainment each morning between 8.00-8.40am. Two year 12 students, Imran Noorabdul and Segun Babatunde, supported by Mr Wasiq, Music teacher, organised the Street Festival which encouraged lots of budding talent to participate, creating an exciting and varied programme for all to enjoy as they arrived in school throughout the month of September. The students loved it as did many of the staff…….Who could forget the amazing dancing Mr Zondo or Anna “Rocky” Affram. I will certainly remember the smiles on faces as both staff and students turned the corner on that first morning. One year 7 girl said; ‘I thought it was going to be a normal day at school’. She soon learnt that no day at Cranford is “normal” there is always something new and exciting around the corner. The initiative was a huge success so we decided to extend the Festival and every Thursday in October 2013 through to December 2013, students and staff continued to book in a performance spot. Imran and Segun took on the role of compère and even helped to get the crowd going with their enthusiastic and inventive “on the spot” rapping. A highly anticipated new programme will begin in spring 2014 and I know performance slots will be hotly contested by all our budding performers old and new. Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher) 5
On
Friday 20th December 2013 the XFactor Final came to Cranford. After weeks of tears, tiaras and tantrums (and that was just the judges), the final six acts battled it out in front of an excited Cranford audience and our panel of judges, Sharon Osborne (Michelle Cousins), Louis Walsh (Alan Fraser), Gary Barlow (Rob Ind) and Nicole Scherzinger (Rachel Thorpe) to be the winner 2013. It has become a tradition at Cranford Community College for staff to put on wigs and silly costumes at the end of the autumn term to entertain students and colleagues and this year was no different, except the entertainment was less pantomime and (for some) more karaoke. The final was skilfully hosted by Dermot O’Biggsy (Kevin Biggs) who had a tough job on his hands juggling diva temperament on and off stage, a lively audience and numerous technical challenges whilst keeping the whole thing moving with pace and energy. The opening act “Mega Mix”, mentored by Sharon, set the standard for the other acts which followed, singing their version of “Wings”. The judges gave them mixed reviews advising that perhaps the energy of their performance outweighed the quality of their talent as a group. Sharon fought hard for public support but the rest of the judging panel were less convinced. Next up were Adele and her “Adeletes”, mentored by Nicole singing “Skyfall”. This proved to be very popular with the judges and recognition was given for the quality of her voice and a performance in a completely different league. Louis said; “You look like a pop star, you sound like a pop star, you are a pop star. You are world-class”. Act number 3, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran picked up the pace with a charming acoustic rendition of “Everything Has Changed”. The judges complimented them on their performance, which demonstrated not just their singing talents but their musicality. During their performance Louis, their mentor, zipped around the floor on his swivel chair, trying to drum up support and swell the cheers in the audience. We were now half way through the final and the competition was “hotting” up with the first of Gary’s groups, “Girls Too Loud” who entertained us with their rendition of “No Good Advice”. Sharon said they were “real contenders” in the competition and although their backing track cut out half way through, they kept going right to the end; a sign of real professionals. 6
CRANFOR
RD’S GOT
The penultimate act was the second of Nicole’s mentees, Lily Allen, performing “Somewhere Only We Know”. This performance showed her amazing vocal range with soaring notes and sustained melodic lines. She too raised the bar and placed herself as a serious contender to win the competition. The judges agreed that she was, “the dark horse of the competition” and Gary reminded everyone; “This is a singing competition and based on that performance you have every right to be in the final”. The last act of the final also mentored by Gary was “No Direction”, a group of five young lads destined for singing stardom with “What Makes You Beautiful”. Their performance raised the roof as they leapt around with boundless energy and enthusiasm encouraging audience participation and distracting the judges with their various antics. They were certainly a crowd pleaser but not in the eye of some of the judges who suggested they were really depending on their popularity and the public vote to put them through and not because they were the most talented; a controversial view which lead to heated arguments amongst the panel and Sharon pouring water over Louis’ head. But, as with all good finals, when the winner was announced, (“Girls Too Loud” performance 1 and “Adele” performance 2), everyone joined in with true Christmas spirit and sang “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” as an ensemble piece. As with previous Christmas shows, there were many Cranford staff that helped make this show a success, including all those people who work behind the scenes and use their amazing skills to get the finished result; notably, Julie Prunty, Mo Wasiq (Music co-ordinator) with Jake, Imran and Segun (year 12/13) who helped as stage technicians. The premises team, who set everything up, built and cleared away the stage, Kevin Biggs and the staff who created and took part in all the “Cranford adverts” and Gary Burnham and his team from AV Services who provided the additional technology to make the XFactor experience as authentic as possible. We could not do this without them all. This was a great fun experience for everyone and a memorable conclusion to 2013. Jessica Joyce (Events organiser) 7
In
September 2013, Cranford Community College together with Zero Culture, Collage Arts, Desai Radio and the Arts Council sponsored a storytelling festival across Hounslow. There were three events hosted by Cranford Community College involving our students and students from local primary schools.
Storytelling Festival
2013
Korean Delegations visit Cranford Community College
Since
October 2013, Cranford Community College has welcomed 4 delegations of senior Korean Educationalists. The visitors wanted to learn about the English school system and were particularly impressed by the WFactor sessions, the attitude and behaviour of the students and the joy in learning that they saw as they visited some classrooms. Korea is one the highest achieving Education areas, according to the latest PISA data (Programme for International Student Assessment) and we are delighted that they want to come and visit Cranford, judged as outstanding in the last Ofsted inspection. It seems Cranford is as well known in Seoul as it is in Southall. By Philip Dobison (Assistant Head of School, International Relations) 8
On 19th September 2013, Roop Singh, one of the UK’s most highly regarded storytellers led a performance and workshop session. This was followed by a workshop performance by “The Truth”, a modern day storyteller who uses Rap to tell urban stories on 26th September 2013, followed by an open session where local performers including students from the workshops were encouraged to come along and tell their story in the atmospheric location of our conservation area at dusk on 27th September 2013. One of the UK’s leading story wizards, Rez Kabir presided over this feast of magic, myth and outrageous mayhem which was well attended and provided an enchanting setting for some wonderful storytelling. Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher)
On
Wednesday 27th November 2013 we were delighted to welcome Imran Khan, renowned Human Rights Lawyer, as guest speaker to our annual Presentation of Awards Evening 2013. The theme for the evening was, “Transforming Our Community”. This theme captures the importance of the role we play in serving our diverse community and our philosophy as a school community to maximise the potential of everyone. The Leadership Quartet, Head Girl and Head Boy, Sara Khan and Sharyar Raja and their deputies, Nikita Sharma and Hardeep Rai, were excellent hosts for the evening as they welcomed prize winners, parents, staff and invited guests to share in the celebrations in recognition for all their hard work. The formal parts of the evening were punctuated by three excellent performances created and rehearsed through the WFactor programme. The Rock Choir began with a rousing performance of “Roar” by Katie Perry. This was followed by a humorous drama performance entitled, “Cranford Super Heroes Transforming Our Community”, an original piece of devised theatre and finally a street dance piece entitled “Shout, Shout, Let it all out”. Imran Khan, who is probably best known for his work representing the family of Stephen Lawrence who was murdered in a racist attack in 1993, presented the prizes after making an inspiring speech about his life and work and how he became a lawyer. He encouraged the students to grab every opportunity given them and said that if they are fortunate as he has been to find a career they love they will never have to really work because the enjoyment will make it not feel like work. He said how delighted he was to be part of the evening and so impressed by the students that he would like to offer some work experience opportunities to us in the future. After the formalities, it was lovely to catch up with the families of prizewinners who had returned from university for the occasion. Imran Khan joined us and took the time to talk to students who were eager for his advice and guidance. This was a memorable evening of celebration. Jessica Joyce (Events Manager)
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Careers News Autumn 2013
It
has been a busy term in the Careers Department with trips, talks, work experience and year 13 UCAS applications. We also welcomed Christina Chuku to Cranford, who is working with students giving specialist 1-2-1 careers guidance and group work sessions. In November 2013, all year 11 students ventured across London to the Excel Arena to take part in the Skills London Careers Show. This huge event had over 200 exhibitors offering interactive activities and information about a wide range of careers. Another, thankfully much closer to home trip, was to British Airways’s Waterside HQ in Harmondsworth where our students learned about the more specific careers available within the airline. In the second half of the autumn term 2013 year 9 students took time out of Wfactor to focus on their futures, culminating in an exciting careers day in December 2013, when they took part in a speed networking event and workshops and watched an entertaining theatre production centred around choosing GCSE options. Our thanks go to the Engage Theatre group for this show. Year 11 Pathway 3 students took on work experience again. Students worked in hospitality, retail and childcare and gained significant employability skills, maturity and confidence. It will be the turn of year 10 students next term. After what seemed an age we finally submitted all the year 13 UCAS applications. Thanks to Ms Suri and her team for their patience and perseverance to ensure students completed their forms. Good luck to all the students – we are sure they will all get the offers they want. We have linked up with Future First, a charity that connects schools with their alumni and they are busy tracking down former Cranford students on our behalf. Some of the benefits we can expect from our partnership are that alumni can visit us to tell us about their chosen career, offer advice or act as mentors to current students, take part in careers days and offer work experience placements and internships. If you know any former students who would like to join our network, please follow this link to sign up
https://networks.futurefirst.org.uk/former-student/cranford Plenty more trips and activities are planned for 2014. Cath Goold (Careers Coordinator)
D
uring October half term 2013, two students from Cranford Cranford Community College, Tia Tishia(year 11) Rimsha Jaffari Community Morgan (year 12) worked with an artist in Mural Project residence and other local children to produce a new mural for the Covent Way estate near the school. The Residents’ Association, Cranford Community College and the Local Authority jointly funded this project. The idea for the project arose from the residents’ wanting to re-establish the area and to give the young people from the estate a voice. The design concept was agreed by the artist and those involved with the creation of the mural; a great way for Cranford students to show their artistic talents and give back something to their community. Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher) 10
A Level Art trip
An Inspiration from the Great Masters
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ome people tend to think that art is just pencil to paper but in reality it is a lot more. The A level Art class is full of potential “not just artists” but budding young architects, interior designers, fashion designers, cartoonists, product designers to name but a few. Each student captures art in their own unique way though sometimes inspiration is not always the easiest thing to find and every artists tends to hit a wall at some time. One of the best ways to find that inspiration is to surround yourself in work by others who have been inspired and the best places for an art student to find that inspiration is at art galleries or museums. In December 2013, the A level Art group took a tour round London to the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and the Tate Modern on the South Bank. Taking the time to look around opened our eyes to see the way others have envisaged the world. We were lucky enough to visit the private exhibition of Paul Klee, an artist who captures surrealism and cubism in his own individual way that was truly inspiring to us. We learnt that opening ourselves up to see that there are no limitations to what we can do as artists we can we can even go bigger and better than the Great Masters.
Isabella Bruno (year 12)
Carol Singing in the Community
The
WFactor Volunteering in the Community group had the great pleasure of bringing a smile to many faces, both old and young alike by carol singing at local community venues throughout November and December 2013. The group of 14 male and female students, ranging in ages from 11–18 years, accompanied by Ms Meek and Mr Ladva, brought joy to their local Tesco store on a wet and dreary afternoon by encouraging the public to join in with the carol singing and they did so enthusiastically. The next outing saw the group singing at a local nursery and the children were in awe as the Cranford students arrived with bells and hats to sing their favourite carols, such as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer which they all clapped and sang along to. The group ended the project with a stunning performance at Age UK in Brentford and will be remembered by staff and students alike for the sheer joy of entertaining the many pensioners, who were delighted to sing, dance and join in for the finale. Charlotte Meeks (Volunteering in the Community leader)
Thank you very much for a brilliant performance by all the students. All here at Age UK had a great time. We are looking forward to many more events together. Thank you to the school for all your help and effort. Regards Hansa Darbar (Volunteer Development Co-ordinator Age UK Hounslow)
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NOFA Music Project and Cranford’s Young Musicians On
Saturday 14th December 2013, despite inevitable end of term exhaustion, Cranford’s Concert Hall was filled with energy, excitement and noise as we hosted the first in what I hope to become a series of concerts, supported by the National Orchestra For All (NOFA). NOFA is an organisation that aims to provide any enthusiastic student, regardless of ability, with opportunities to participate in ensemble music making. This year they have launched the Conductors for Change (CFC) project which supports schools in expanding these opportunities and performing music together. Twenty of our most dedicated key stage 3 musicians joined with twenty singers and instrumentalists from Feltham Community College to put on a really
exciting concert to an invited audience of parents and representatives from NOFA. We rehearsed during the afternoon, with the students showing impressive focus and mature attitudes. The concert started at 4.30pm and featured solo performances from both schools. Congratulations to Jaiman Bhalsod (8T), Christiana Eftenoiu (8T), Sara Yousuf Saiyed (9V), Lucy Tirahan (9T), Lewis Tirahan (8T) and Kabir Poddar (8Z) for their performances. The finale was a large ensemble piece, featuring all the students involved from both schools. Written especially for this project by NOFA’s resident composer, Winter Groove was an exciting and lively end to the concert. The school’s NOFA ensemble are currently rehearsing in WFactor and are preparing for another concert, building on the success of the last, which is being planned for the end of the Easter Term 2014. Leah Mirsky (Music Department)
“I think that the NOFA concert that we held at our school was a really fun experience. We got to hang out with our friends and practise music together and it gave us a chance to play music with another school and to show off to them what we have learnt and what we can do. It was fun watching some of the solo performances from our school and from Feltham. One of the acts performed by Feltham was a band performance of a song called ‘River Flows In You’ which was originally played on piano by a man called Yiruma. Another was a choir performance which was made up of mostly girls. There were also a few performances from our school such as a Dhol performance by two year 8 students, a guitar performance by two year 9 girls, a drum solo by a boy in year 8 and a piano solo of a song called ‘Für Elise’ by a girl in year 8. All of these performances were brilliant and very entertaining. If either Cranford or Feltham holds another concert like this in the future I would definitely attend”.
“I found the concert fun and interesting and I was very happy to be part of it. I think this was a great opportunity for me and for others because we got to meet new people and socialise with people who have the same interest as us. We got to learn an amazing piece of music written for us by NOFA (National Orchestra For All). At first we were very nervous because we had to play in front of a large audience, but when we started playing all our worries were gone. The audience liked all the performances and gave us a big round of applause”.
Ali Sarwar (year 8)
Christiana Eftenoiu (year 8)