Lent Termly Review 2024 | Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School

Termly Review

Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School

HEADMASTER'SMESSAGE

Every term at Cardinal Vaughan is full of moments that inspire One that particularly stands out is Second Form pupil, Kaleb Hanson, who organised a fundraiser for the homeless This is a resounding example of how Catholic Social Teaching encourages pupils to integrate faith and action, fostering a deep understanding of their role as agents of positive change in the world This is one of many examples this term

Our Classics Day was fantastically well supported by a range of alumni who had read Classics at university and returned to speak to current pupils about how it had helped shape their lives and careers The same goes for our recent Dragons Den event, where alumni, current parents, and friends of the Vaughan from several prestigious companies and organizations gave so generously of their time to come and judge our Second Form business pitches

Underpinned by the strength of our community and the dedication of our wonderful staff, our pupils have continued to achieve incredible things this term, both in the classroom and beyond This includes the fifteen offers our Sixth Formers have received from Oxford and Cambridge, with many more receiving offers from leading Russell Group universities

Other highlights this term include the Vaughan being first Secondary School/Sixth Form invited to the High Commission of India; our Sixth Form girls being invited by the Chair of the Women of the Year Alumnae Club, Lady Louise Vaughan, to support a lunch event for the Alumnae Club with Baroness Hale; the U12 Rugby team finishing as runners-up in the Middlesex Rugby Sevens Tournaments, the highest placed state school; and Fourth Form Toby Yates placing first overall in the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge.

Our pupils also enjoyed international trips to Austria, Iceland, and Italy, with a Classics trip to Italy to look forward to over Easter You can read more about all of the above in this termly review At a time when there are significant challenges on state education, we continue to create as many opportunities as we possibly can for our pupils Thank you once again all for your support

Wishing you a blessed Holy Week and all the joy of Easter,

Paul Stubbings Headmaster

FragilityofFaith

Religious Education is at the core of our curriculum from the Lower School through to the Sixth Form Our Lower and Upper Sixth Form pupils attend a weekly Core RE lecture programme that focuses on important subjects each week to foster faith at the school and encourage theological debates at a deeper level

For Holocaust Memorial Day 2024, the assembly reflected on the theme of 'Fragility of Faith' Holocaust Memorial Day is observed on 27 January commemorating the date Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated in 1945

After an informative and heartfelt lecture from Ms Evans, Head of Religious Education & Philosophy, our pupils and staff marked Holocaust Memorial Day with a prayer written by The Council of Christians and Jews

First Form altar servers preparing for Lower School Mass with Monsignor Reader, School Chaplain

Sixth Form Choir singing at Mass, with First Form pupils dedicating bidding prayers to International Women's Day

First Form Mass Service to mark the start of Lent Term

The Schola Cantorum sing for Vigil Mass at Westminster Cathedral

Passiontide Lenten Service led by the Headmaster, Mr Stubbings, and Monsignor Reader

CHARITABLEGIVING HandstoHelpOthers

“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy It has eyes to see misery and want It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men That is what love looks like ”

- Saint Augustine

Second Form pupil, Kaleb H, and his sister, Karis and Eleah-Grace, organised their own 5k sponsored walk for Crisis Homeless Charity on New Year’s Day in memory of their Parish Priest, Father Terry Murray, who sadly passed away before Christmas

They wanted to do something to help others less fortunate than them and help Fr Terry's legacy live on Supporters joined the Hanson family and did a 5K walk from Quex Road, Kilburn around St John’s Wood and back up to Kilburn Despite a little shower of rain, the mood was good and spirits were high and the walk was carried out in around 1 hour and 20 minutes

Kaleb said: "We felt inspired when our Mum recently offered to buy a coffee for a homeless man who we often see sleeping on a bench near our home, however, we also felt that we wanted to do more to help "

Councillor Eddie Hanson, Kaleb's father, added: "They did this walk in memory of the beloved Father Terry Murray who gave so much to help others, and wanted to do something to follow in his footsteps and see his legacy live on through the good work of others "

Kaleb and his siblings were extremely grateful for the support and generous donations and in their efforts to help end homelessness, they raised over £2,500 Very well done to all involved

TheVaughan’s Charities

At the Vaughan, we are proud to partner with Aid to the Church in Need Last November alone we raised £2,000 for their £100k4Africa, part of their #RedWednesday appeal

In addition, we have a long-standing connection with the School of Joy in Bethlehem, a school for children with special educational needs Last term, we raised £1,000 for the School of Joy

As a school community, we are so proud of the work we do collectively to help others in need We believe the Vaughan fosters a culture of service and responsibility which equips all pupils to make a positive difference

Thank you for your support of our affiliate charities.

AWorkshopwith GiovannaDiMartino

Our Sixth Form Classicists attended a workshop run by Giovanna Di Martino from UCL This was based upon Euripides' Bacchae, which students study in Lower Sixth as part of the Greek Theatre module The focus was on a choral ode from the play, encouraging them to see what it must have meant to be part of a play in a chorus and the physical power that this has on the stage as one body

The Vaughan hosted its annual 'Day to Celebrate Classics' , bringing leading academics and Classicists together for a day that provides huge inspiration for pupils making choices relating to GCSE and A Level subjects, and for those considering applying for Classics at university. As one of only 3% of British state schools that teach Classics, the Vaughan was proud to host the event, to which pupils from schools across London were invited.

During the day, leading academics from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford gave lectures. In the final part of the day, there was an impactful and informative panel discussion chaired by comedian and producer Jimmy Mulville with Vaughan alumni who are currently reading Classics at Oxford and Cambridge as well as Classics graduates Panellists shared their experience of the subject and their perspectives on how it has shaped their lives and careers Jimmy added that he credits studying Classics at University as having a major impact on his life and career

Thank you to all our speakers, panel members, and Jimmy Mulville for their support in making days like this possible and helping us to inspire a new generation of classicists and ancient historians An extra special thank you to Ms Georgiakakis, acting Head of Classics and Co-ordinator of PSHE, RSE & Careers for organising this incredible opportunity for our pupils and those who attended from other schools

WELLBEINGWEEK

The ‘My Voice Matters’ Karaoke sessions provided a supportive environment to come together and have fun

Over a third of First Form pupils participated in Table Tennis Club with Mr Brett during lunch!

Ms Macgloin led an origami session teaching pupils to make a paper cactus

At Art Club, Ms Knight asked pupils to create a self-portrait with things that make them happy

Pupils across the school were given a postcard to give to someone in the school community to thank them for what they do

EmotionalRegulation MsHobden,School Councillor

As part of Wellbeing Week, school counsellor, Ms Hobden delivered an assembly on emotional regulation to the Third and Fourth Form, focusing on understanding how everyone experiences emotions differently, and encouraging pupils to think together about the different ways they can manage and cope with challenging or overwhelming feelings

Thank you, Ms Hobden, for an engaging assembly and for encouraging an open discussion around positive mental wellbeing

CAREERS&HIGHEREDUCATION

DragonsDen

The Vaughan hosted a Dragons’ Denstyle event for the Second Form, with pupils pitching their best business ideas to a panel of dragons made up of parents, alumni and supporters of the school

The panel comprised of Stefan Maingot (OV 96 & entrepreneur and TV producer), Cllr Eddie Hanson (current parent & Labour Party Councillor for Camden), Gerry Jennings (OV 78, current parent & MBA Coach at the London Business School) and Kate Mulcahy (from the Makerspace innovation hub at Imperial College London)

The winning pitch was created by MarkEasy whose idea was singled out by the judges against a very strong field Gabriel M and Ralph T from the winning team are pictured here with the judges

Well done to all the Second Form pupils for taking part and thank you to our Lower Sixth Form Business Studies pupils who supported the event throughout the day as well as our fantastic panel of judges

We’re delighted to report that a total of 15 pupils have been offered places to study at Oxford and Cambridge in this year’s application round

The offers mark the culmination of a huge amount of hard work from our successful applicants as well as the teachers who have supported them every step of the way, from arranging Open Days to guiding them through the famously rigorous Oxbridge application and interview process This guidance includes the annual mock entrance interview event The event sees applicants put through their paces by Oxbridge and Cambridge graduates drawn from Vaughan alumni and supporters of the school, all generously volunteering their time to share invaluable insights

Mr Stubbings, Headmaster, comments: “The way in which the school prepares our Oxbridge candidates captures many of the reasons why Cardinal Vaughan is such a special place, highlighting as it does the dedication and expertise of our teaching staff as well as the support provided by the wider Vaughan community who give so generously of their time to help our current students Getting into Oxford or Cambridge is a huge personal achievement and we congratulate all our successful applicants ”

Thank you to Ms Vernon-Powell, Teacher of English & Acting Head of Future Pathways, Ms Whelan, Associate Headteacher and Head of Upper School, and Mr Mooney, Teacher of History & Politics and Head of Upper Sixth, for their support throughout the process

Approximately 20% leave after GCSEs – most to join other schools, a few to employment, another few to other RC colleges A regular mighty handful to Oxbridge (10 in 2023); most of the rest to heavyweight universities (66 per cent to Russell Group) to do heavyweight subjects, many to study law and engineering

VISITORS

Thankyoutothemanyguestspeakerswehave welcomedtotheVaughanthisterm.

5 February

28 February

7 March

20 March

28 February

ADaytoCelebrate Classics

6 March

Gerry Jennings, Stefan Maingot, Cllr Eddie Hanson, and Kate Mulcahy

12 March

20 March

For our Classics Event, we welcomed guest lecturers Dr Daniel Sutton, University of Cambridge, Dr Adrian Kelly, University of Oxford, Dr Michael Loy, University of Cambridge, Dr Andrew Sillett, University of Oxford , and Prof Llewelyn Morgan, University of Oxford

We also welcomed a panel of Classics postgraduates and undergraduates Codi Carnegie (Cambridge), Rose Dolan (OV 2021 & Clare College, Cambridge), Olivia McQuaid (OV 2020 & Brasenose College, Oxford), Florence Robinson (OV 23 & Trinity College, Oxford) as well as Classics graduates Callum Morganti (Slaughter and May), Fiona Lyle (HSBC), Lucy Brant (British Medical Association), and Moa Taylor Hodin (Stanley Arts)

Thank you to all of our guest Classicist who offered such valuable advice and insight into studying Classics at university

Tim Marshall, journalist, author, and broadcaster

Hannah Welsh, Biomedical Engineering Masters student Imperial College

Jimmy Mulville, Managing Director of Hat Trick Productions

Jason Rohan, author of the STEALTH series

Nicholas Troen, Head of Entrepreneurship at St Paul's School

David Swinson, Director of Music at Trinity School

Trevor Stirling, Senior Partner at Moore Barlow

LowerSixth Economics& Businesstript

IndianHigh Commission

6March

TRIPS

Ourpupilshaveenjoyedarangeoftripsthisterm

9 January

Lower Sixth Form pupils attend Woman of the Year with Baroness Hale

Our Lower Sixth Form Business and Economics pupils were invited to The High Commission of India in Central London The pupils had a tour of the historic building and interacted in a Question and Answer session with His Excellency Mr Vikram Doraiswami, The High Commissioner They also learnt about the functioning of a diplomatic mission and various facets of Indian economic development.

Cardinal Vaughan is the first Secondary School/Sixth Form to be invited to the High Commission. Thank you to Ms Coyle, Head of Business and Economics, and Mr Kelleher, Head of Fourth Form & Teacher of Business & Economics, for assisting the pupils on this trip

15 January

Fifth Form watch kin at the National Theatre

31 January

Fourth Form pupils Toby Y and Edward S make Jack Petchey finals

12 February

Upper Sixth Form Spanish pupils watch La Casa de Bernarda Alba

10 January

First and Second Form visit The Guardian

16 January

Fourth Form DT pupils Kings Cross trip

31 January

Lower School ProtoMaker Challenge at Imperial College Makerspace

13 February

Fifth Form Poetry Live!

SPORT

RecordBreakingTerm

As the term draws to a close, it is important to reflect on the achievements of our pupils who have represented our football teams Over the course of this term, 210 Lower School pupils, 41% of the entire Lower School, represented our school in football fixtures and this total includes the 91 First Form pupils, 71% of this year group, who represented our school's

Congratulations to our Sixth Form Senior Girls team who placed second in the London Schools' Cross Country Championships at Wormwood Scrubbs In addition, Cliona O'B, Kate B, Elena D, and Joanne D'S, also placed in the top 30 in the 4 2km race

Well done also to Nathan D'H, Lower Sixth who came 146th in the English Schools' Cross Country Championships at Pontefract Racecourse representing London out of 307 runners

Sevens

ions to the U12 and U13 ens Teams who excelled in their Middlesex Rugby Sevens Tournaments with the U12 team finishing as runners-up, the highest placed state school in the tournament, and the U13 team finishing third in their respective tournaments which is a fantastic achievement

Well done to both the pupils and Mr Leigh, Teacher of Physical Education & Extra-Curricular Sports Coordinator for their hard work in ensuring their participation in these tournaments was a resounding success

Malakaiperforms withBradleyCooper

During the half term, Fourth Form pupil, Malakai B, performed at the David Geffen Hall in New York with Bradley Cooper, actor & producer, and the New York Philharmonic as part of Orchestrating Maestro: Music and Conversation.

The concert is a live performance of the score of the Maestro film, the biopic of Leonard Bernstein that is now available on Netflix, the soundtrack of which features Malakai’s singing at several key moments

Malakai received special mentions in Vogue magazine, Vanity Fair and the Washington Post amongst many others!

Here he is photographed at the rehearsals with conductor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and fellow soloists, Sam Oladeinde and Philip Sheffield

Congratulations, Malakai!

MUSIC

This term, the Vaughan held its first ever Keyboard Festival. Many congratulations to all who played in our organ and piano recitals later in the day and thank you to Martin Cousin, concert pianist, founding member of Aquinas Piano Trio and member of Chroma, for his inspiring masterclass that was hugely helpful for everyone present

The winners of our seven heats in the school's annual Music Competition competed for the prize of Junior and Senior Musician of the Year Thank you to David Swinson, Director of Music at Trinity School and Director of Trinity Boys Choir for his adjudication and many congratulations to our winners, James C, Fourth Form and Alex R R, Lower Sixth

Well done to the ten Lower School pupils who were part of the chorus in Richard Jones' production of the Puccini opera La bohème at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden over the last month All performed incredibly well!

VaughanCheer

Our legendary International Burns Night was, yet again, a huge success We are so fortunate to have Vaughan parents Cerys Matthews and Steve Abbott bringing their creative flair and artistic flourish to help create an unforgettable occasion that many in the school community look forward to every year It’s an opportunity to have fun while raising much-needed funds for The Vaughan Association

BigBandBackwitha Bang

A truly inclusive affair, Burns Night at the Vaughan, as ever, came with an international twist Taking the chance to celebrate culture and arts from around the world - reflecting the richness in the background of our pupil and parent body – guests were encouraged to take to the stage to share poems and songs that are close to their hearts, including Teacher of Classics, Ms Johnson, who recited 'A Red, Red Rose' and Sixth Form pupil, Tadhg F who read 'My Heart’s in the Highlands' both by Robert Burns In addition, Vaughan Alumna, Elizabeth Uwalaka shared some of her own poetry and music And thanks to Parent Governor, Veronique Foucault, for sharing some thoughtful French poetry

Thanks too, to former Vaughan parent Mrs Outtrim who played bagpipes for guests on arrival and throughout the event, Mr Stewart, Foundation Governor for cutting the Haggis and leading the singing of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ Also to Mr Rammelt, Attendance Officer for donating a number of Scottish-themed items and current parents Ms Scully, Ms O’Shea, Ms Giblin, Ms Healy and Ms Ybarra for the beautiful decorations Many other parents also generously donated gifts for the raffle which helped raise funds on the night.

We are delighted to announce that on the evening, after expenses we raised almost £3,500 for the Vaughan Association. Thank you to all who attended and made the event a tremendous success and to our Sixth Form helpers who supported on the evening

As one of the highlights of the school calendar, we are excited that our Big Band event is back after a break.

The New Hall was transformed into a glittering evening venue with delicious refreshments The event was an excellent opportunity for parents to meet up and mingle for a wonderful evening featuring swing and jazz music from the Big Band who were joined by sensational vocalists whilst the evening opened with a set from the amazing Junior Big Band!

Well done to all who played and huge thanks to all who came to support our incredible musicians and singers The support from our valued community is what makes the Vaughan We would like to give an extra special thanks to the Vaughan Parents Association as well as all of the parent volunteers and Sixth Form helpers

Throughout Holy Week, are following Jesus on the way of the cross with a selection of readings and reflections, which we will be sharing on our school website as well as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn

We invite you to follow along and join us in reflection

LOVE&SERVICEFUND

Cardinal Vaughan is a school founded on philanthropy, which has grown and developed with the support of its incredible community Thanks to our community we have been able to deliver ambitious building projects, invest in our staff, and provide exceptional extra-curricular provision

Over the last 10 years, state schools across the country have seen their funding frozen, with rising costs and cuts to grants To ensure we continue to provide the same exceptional education we have always offered our pupils, we ask families, alumni, and friends of the Vaughan to consider how they can best support the school through our Love and Service Fund, particularly at this time of year

Almsgiving is about donating time, services, or funds to others As Lent comes to an end, we encourage you to think about whether you might be able to support Cardinal Vaughan Giving alms should be meaningful, and we understand that what is meaningful depends on each family’s situation Not everyone has time, money, services, or goods they can donate

There are several ways that you can support the Love and Service Fund, our school’s charitable arm. A fixed donation each month can help us plan for the future Fixed donations can be a constant reminder to us as Catholics that we should share our resources, and giving back to our school is a great way to do this

Fixed donations, of course, shouldn’t stop you from spontaneous acts of charity You can also make a one-off donation to the Love and Service Fund One-off gifts can be transformational and have enabled us to make key investments in staff These gifts generate momentum and allow the school to help self-determinate

We are also looking for volunteers to help at school events, so if you are able to give your time and service, we value that very highly and encourage you to email our Development Office at development@sjscat co uk for further information

Please do read our booklet below for more information or contact Mrs

With best wishes, The Development Team

Anna Carpmael in our Development Office