Michaelmas Termly Review 2023 | Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School

MICHAELMAS 2023

Termly Review

Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School

CONTENTS 01

Introduction Headmaster's Message

08

Red Wednesday Margaret Attah

02

Class of 2023-24 Amare et Servire

09

Music Highlights of the term

03

GCSE & A-Level Success Results 2022-23

10

Sport Latest fixtures

04

Giving Day Total raised exceeds last year

11

Drama Twelfth Night

05

Catholic Life Celebrating faith at the Vaughan

12

Love & Service Message from the Development Team

06

Community Coming together

13

07

Visitors Guest speakers

Advent Love & Service digital Advent calendar

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HEADMASTER'S MESSAGE This has been another wonderfully busy and exciting term at Cardinal Vaughan.

The calendar has been full of concerts, plays, competitions, charity events, alumni reunions and inter-House challenges. We’ve had an incredible line-up of external guest speakers, fantastic sports fixtures and seen our pupils taking to the stages of the Royal Opera House and Royal Albert Hall. We also became the first state school ever to be asked a second time to perform for the BBC Radio 3 Choral Song on BBC Radio 3 and we also marked Red Wednesday in partnership with the Aid to the Church in Need.

Our outstanding public exam results in August were a testament to the fact that academic success stems from our commitment to truly provide an exceptional and inclusive education for our pupils. Throughout the Termly Review you will see the richness of the first-class Catholic education we deliver. 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. Our Giving Day in September was another stand-out moment which brought our community together to raise a staggering £55,000 in 36 hours through any array of challenges involving rowing, drama and even an organist-athon, ending with our alumni running alongside Mr Brett to complete an ultra-marathon Thank you once again all for your support.

I hope you have had an opportunity to follow our first ever digital Advent Calander, which shines a light on our community and offers a daily chance to pause, reflect and pray as we prepare for Christmas. Thanks also to Monsignor Reader and Sr (Dr) Finbarr Coffey for their liturgical guidance and input. I know our pupils have all relished being part of yet another Vaughan first!

We would like to say a huge thank you to our entire community for making 2023 another wonderful year at the Vaughan. We look ahead to 2024 with energy and optimism as we prepare to celebrate the Vaughan’s 110th anniversary next September. While there is much to celebrate, we also need to keep building on everything we do and continue to be ambitious for every single pupil.

Wishing everyone a peaceful Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Paul Stubbings Headmaster

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CLASS OF 2023-24 Amare et Servire

Welcoming new members of our community We were pleased to welcome the First Form pupils and their families to the Vaughan in September where they met Headmaster Mr Stubbings and all the teaching staff. The day started with a welcome Mass at the school led by Monsignor Reader. The pupils were then assigned to their form groups and met their Head of Year, Mr Brett.

Later in the week, we welcomed back the whole school for what is sure to be another excellent academic year.

Pupil Appointments for 2023/24 In September we also announced pupil appointments to leadership roles for the academic year 2023/24.

Head Prefects: Alistair L and Keoni M Deputy Head Prefects: Oscar D, Dorothy F, Peter K and Francesca K

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GCSE & A-LEVEL SUCCESS Results 2022-23 This year our pupils achieved outstanding public examination results, which far exceeded national averages. 37.2% of our A-Level results were grades A* and A (national average 26.5%), and 70.4% at A* - B. At GCSE, 37.1% of grades were 9 & 8, and well over half (55.4%) 9, 8 or 7. The magnificent results speak eloquently for themselves and keep Cardinal Vaughan one of the highest performing comprehensive schools in the country.

Find out more here - https://www.cvms.co.uk/Latest-GCSE-A-LevelResults/.

Vaughan Head Boy in Top 50 Computer Science Pupils Samuel Seyoum

University destinations 2022-23

Former Vaughan Head Boy Samuel Seyoum (OV 2023) was named one of the top Computer Science A-Level students in the country.

The most commonly gone to universities in order were Nottingham, Leeds, and Exeter.

66.3%

This comes after achieving A* A* A* A* in his A-Levels and winning a place to the University of Cambridge to read Computer Science.

Will be studying at Russell Group universities, including Oxford and Cambridge

Samuel commented: "Thank you to everyone at the Vaughan, I am indebted as I could not have come close to doing this well without the help of every one of you. I will never forget how much was done for me by the members of staff at the school."

10 Places attained at Oxford and Cambridge Universities

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GIVING DAY Total raised exceeds last year Thank you so much to our community who have came together in support of Giving Day 2023 in September. We have been overwhelmed with the community engagement online and the generosity of your donations.

We were delighted to announce that we have exceeded our initial target of £20,000 and we have raised £55,000 for the Love & Service Fund.

Challenges included Challenges included Mr Brett’s marathon challenge, an alumni community run and our Eco Club litter picking challenge.

We are proud to have such a committed community who continue to show so much support for the school, and we are incredibly grateful for everyone who got involved, whether donating directly to the Fund or spreading awareness about the cause.

The funds will go a long way in providing the pupils with resources and opportunities that will enrich their educational experience, and it is all thanks to you, our community.

For highlights from our Giving Day, visit our school website or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

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CATHOLIC LIFE Foundation Day Mass Friday 22 September

School Chaplain visits Sri Lanka St Thomas Catholic International College Our school Chaplain Monsignor Reader visited St Thomas Catholic International College in Sri Lanka this term. Here Monsignor Reader is presenting a gift from Cardinal Vaughan to the St Thomas’ community.

Catholic Life at the Vaughan

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COMMUNITY Ealing Half Marathon Well done to the 21 teachers, parents, pupils, alumni and community members who ran for Team Vaughan in the Ealing Half Marathon in September. We are extremely grateful to those who ran, sponsored and supported the team at the event. Friends of the Vaughan, including governors and alumni, were spectating from the street along the route cheering on Team Vaughan.

Congratulations to, Mr Mooney, Head of Upper Sixth & Teacher of History and Politics, who was first past the finish line for Team Vaughan with a time of 1:28:34 and also to Ms Vernon-Powell, Teacher of English, who placed 8th overall in her category!

There were also other members of the community running, who we would like to congratulate. Thank you to Mr Brett for organising the team. We raised vital funds for Love & Service.

Oxbridge Interviews This term a group of Cardinal Vaughan Sixth Former pupils took part in mock entrance interviews for Oxford and Cambridge Universities. In the last seven years, Cardinal Vaughan has sent more pupils to Oxford or Cambridge than any other Catholic school in the country – private or state.

We’re tremendously proud of the achievements of former pupils attaining places at these world-class Universities. This is why, each year, we arrange for Sixth Form pupils to take part in mock interviews run by Oxford and Cambridge graduates drawn from Vaughan alumni and supporters of the school.

This year, we welcomed back 12 Old Vaughanian volunteers, all giving very generously of their time to help our pupils shine. Subjects covered included Medicine, Land Economy, Architecture, Natural Sciences and Law.

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VISITORS Thank you to the many guest speakers we have welcomed to the Vaughan this term.

25 September Max Bennett, Fode Simbo, and Eleanor Wyld, Globe Theatre’s Macbeth

28 September Aswin Chari, Neurosurgical Registrar

5 October Maud Millar (OV 2007), Co-Founder & CEO of Adapt

18 October Dr David Okai MD(Res) MRCPsych MB.BS B.Med.Sci(Hons) PGDip(CBT) (OV 95)

30 October Marlin Ranasinghe, Google DSC Competitive Programming Lead (OV 21)

21 November Maragret & Dominik Attah with Aid to the Church in Need

7 November Gregory Porter, Grammy Award-winning jazz singer

Speech Night Dr Sarah Ruggins Our Guest of Honour this year was Dr Sarah Ruggins, Head of Multi-Asset Research at St James's Place. Dr Ruggins is an awarded academic, endurance athlete and advocate for inclusion in all aspects of life.

She believes that a strong sense of self and having the bravery to fail are the foundations to a meaningful life.

14 December Councillor Eddie Hanson (current parent)

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Her speech encouraged pupils to "have the courage stand up for your values, the bravery to fail, and the strength to keep going. Take it one day at a time, and if that's too much, one step at a time. You will arrive exactly where you're meant to be."

RED WEDNESDAY

ACN Courage to be a Christian Recipient Margaret Attah On Tuesday 21 November, we were honoured to host Margaret Attah and her husband Dominic Attah here at the Vaughan for our #RedWednesday assembly in partnership with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). The previous week, Mrs Attah received the first-ever ACN 'Courage to be Christian' award at St George's Cathedral, Southwark.

Margaret Attah is a survivor of an atrocity which killed 41 parishioners and injured more than 80 people at St Francis Xavier’s Catholic Church in Owo, south-west Nigeria on 5 June 2022. Mrs Attah tragically lost both legs and sight in one eye during the attack and she shared her story about how faith has guided her through this period.

Geography Field Trip

Sixth Form Philosophy

On Red Wednesday, our First Form attended St Cecilia Mass celebrated by Fr Dominic Robinson. The school’s Schola Cantorum, conducted by Director of Music, Mr Price, were accompanied by Mr Evans on the organ. Bidding prayers were offered for our Christian brothers and sisters across the world being persecuted for their faith.

In addition, our pupils all wore an item of red clothing to symbolise religious persecution and raised funds for Aid to the Church in Need. Thank you to all who took part, raising over £900.

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In total, this term we have raised over £2000 for Aid to the Church in Need.

MUSIC This year, our Music Department is celebrating a remarkable achievement: we have a record-breaking 18 Music A-Level students in the Lower Sixth Form and an additional 12 in the Upper Sixth!

14 October CVMS Music at Abbey Road

8 November Kaelan O’S in Jephtha

3 December National Concert Band Festival

13 December Gregory Porter at Royal Albert Hall

17 October Maurice Duruflé Requiem

11 November Festival of Remembrance

7 December Handel’s Messiah

16 December Hansel and Gretel at Royal Opera House

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BBC Radio 3 Choral Evensong Our Lady of Victories BBC Radio 3’s Choral Evensong broadcast the Schola Cantorum on Wednesday 6 December. The Vespers was sung for the First Week of Advent at Our Lady of Victories, Kensington by the Schola Cantorum, directed by Director of Music, Mr Price and accompanied by Mr Evans on the organ.

The service, celebrated by Monsignor Roger Reader, School Chaplain, included readings from pupils Jonathan S, Tom F, and Matteo A, as well as music including William Byrd, Tomás Luis de Victoria and an introit by our patron, Sir James MacMillan.

In addition, thank you to our altar servers, Arthur B, Simao M, and Sean K for supporting during the service.

Congratulations to all those involved.

You can listen to the full service here https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/ m001sw91.

SPORT Great Term for our Teams As this term draws to a close, the Physical Education department would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of staff, pupils, and parents for their dedication to extra-curricular sports at our school.

There have been many successes this term both in terms of numbers of pupils representing our school and individuals and teams excelling in various competitions.

U12 Middlesex Rugby Tournament On Friday 1 December the Year 7 Rugby team competed in the U12 Middlesex Tournament which included some of the strongest rugby playing schools in the county. Sixteen teams participated in total divided into four leagues and after the morning round of games Cardinal Vaughan had won their group which included Christ's, Fulham Boys School and Latymer.

In the afternoon we were placed in a group with the other three group winners to compete for the Middlesex Cup. After narrow defeats to Halliford and UCS, Cardinal Vaughan finished their games by beating London Oratory.

This means that the Year 7 team came third overall in Middlesex but were the highest placed state school in the tournament.

This was a considerable achievement.

Congratulations to all the boys involved.

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DRAMA Drama is growing and flourishing at the Vaughan. Drama Club for Second, Third and Fourth Form pupils is on Wednesday lunchtime and a new Drama Club for First Form pupils is held on Thursday lunchtime. We would love to see lots of new faces there!

Following their success in the Coram's Shakespeare Schools Festival, our Lower School pupils will be performing Twelfth Night in Coram’s annual Christmas celebration in the beautiful surroundings of the church of St Andrew, Holborn.

Shakespeare Schools Festival Twelfth Night This term, the Vaughan took part in the Shakespeare Schools Festival.

Pupils from the Second to Fourth Forms performed Twelfth Night at the Exchange Theatre, Twickenham.

The event was compered by LBC's James O'Brien and the readings were given by supporters of the charity, including Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho.

Thank you to Ms Drury, Head of Drama and Teacher of English, Ms Nutt, Teacher of English & Drama, and Mr Motley, Assistant Director of Music, for leading the production, and well done to our incredibly talented actors.

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Ahead of their performance in the evening, the pupils ran a dress rehearsal for our First Form and Headmaster Mr Stubbings.

Ms Drury, Head of Drama & Teacher of English commented: "Working on this play has been a joy; the talent and dedication of the cast made all the hard work worth it. I am so glad the boys got the chance to perform in a professional theatre and am also very grateful for the expertise of my colleagues Ms Nutt and Mr Motley who helped to make this production such a success."

LOVE & SERVICE FUND 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 & Service Fund.

Please do read our booklet here for more information or contact Mrs Anna Carpmael in our Development Office.

Wishing our community a very Happy Christmas.

With best wishes, The Development Team

Thank you to our community for all your support this term 12 WWW.CVMS.CO.UK

ADVENT This year, we launched our first ever digital Love & Service Advent calendar. Every day during Advent, we have shared a video displaying the ways we celebrate our faith here at Cardinal Vaughan.

Our digital Advent calendar offers a daily opportunity to pause, reflect and pray, as well as celebrate our school motto of Love & Service. See highlights below.

Watch the Love & Service Advent Calendar so far here - https://www.cvms.co.uk/Love-Service-Advent-Calendar/

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