Senior news

HEAD STUDENTS AND PREFECTS | SIXTH FORM

A hearty thank you to all of our head sixth form students and prefects who represented the school admirably and with unwavering enthusiasm throughout the 2020-21 academic year. Each student has tackled the challenges presented by lockdown restrictions superbly. They have remained fantastic role models for Senior School pupils throughout, and have conducted some excellent fundraising efforts this year too. INDUCTION AND TEAM BUILDING DAY | YEAR 7

We were delighted to welcome 120 new Year 7 pupils into the Senior School this September. In spite of public health guidance, our induction day enabled us to ensure our new pupils felt welcome and confident, with familiarisation tours, ice breaker games and a lovely picnic on the mansion lawn. A team building day followed later in the term and the Year 7s showed themselves to be a resilient year group. It has been wonderful to see them settle into Claremont life so well, with new friendships blossoming.

Claremont Fan Court School was awash with yellow on Friday 9 October in support of the Young Minds UK #HelloYellow campaign to mark World Mental Health Awareness Day. All parts of the school participated, with both pupils and staff wearing yellow headbands, socks, ties, hats and face masks. The campaign advocates that nobody, including young people, need feel alone with their mental health and that looking after our wellbeing is just as important as our physical health.

“It is essential that the wellbeing of both pupils and staff are talked about, especially during such a challenging year, and that we all come together as a community to have some fun!"

Mrs Rachel Heard, campaign organiser

SUCCESSFUL LATERAL FLOW TESTING | ALL YEARS

A huge thank you to our fantastic lateral flow testing team who were able to successfully process hundreds of tests for Senior School pupils, sixth form students and staff to ensure a safe return to school on 8 March. Led by the school’s care centre staff, the school began testing staff twice weekly at the beginning of the spring term and were ready to test everyone once on-site learning resumed, with hardly any positive results and very limited disruption to learning.

STEM CLUB | ALL YEARS

From fizzing bath bombs, micro-organisms and robotics in Year 8 to medical diagnostics and engineering challenges in Year 10, pupils have enjoyed a huge variety of STEM activities this year. Through practical experiments such as studying pH levels in cosmetics, racing miniature robots around a circuit and constructing marble runs out of paper, pupils have been learning more about the applications of these subjects. It has been fantastic to see a growing number of girls and boys so engaged and interested in the world of STEM.

TRAVEL SHOW | YEAR 7

It was fantastic to welcome back our annual Year 7 travel show during the summer term. Typically, groups choose to research destinations all over the world, but with international travel restrictions in place this year, pupils were tasked with showcasing destinations closer to home in the UK. It was clear from the stalls that groups had spent lots of time researching each location and had worked hard to put together thoughtful and creative displays to present their findings. Pupils were very knowledgeable on their chosen destinations and were able to recommend some of the most popular spots for sightseeing, the best time of year to visit as well as some helpful travel advice! Crop farmer, Andrew Gentle, spoke to Year 10 pupils from his farm in Chichester via Google Meet in the summer term as part of the LEAF Education programme which aims to engage young people in food production and farming. Andrew explained the processes behind harvesting peas and pupils learnt about the importance of taking crop samples. It has been a valuable experience for pupils to understand a little more about food production and crop management in the UK and a wonderful opportunity to ask plenty of questions!