11 June 2021

What an incredible first week of this half-term we have had! There has been an exceptional energy in school with lots of exciting trips and activities going on, including the Year 7 & 8 Activity Day, Year 5 Senior Experience Day, Sixth Form UCAS day and Year 10 Sixth Form Experience Day – not to mention a whole host of wonderful lessons taking place across the school.

Year 7 and 8 had a fabulous day of enrichment on Wednesday at Longridge Activity Centre, where they enjoyed a whole range of team building and outdoor activities. The water activities including paddle boarding and kayaking were especially popular against the backdrop of some fabulously sunny weather. Year 7s fearlessly tackled Jacob's Ladder - a team climbing game where you help your teammates up a giant 'ladder' climbing frame. They also embraced an exhilarating range of climbing, jumping and swinging activities, particularly enjoying building a platform of crates whilst standing on them to see how high they could get, before falling!

Meanwhile, our Year 5 pupils had a taste of life in Senior School this week and all of them came away simply buzzing about their day! They experienced a range of Senior School lessons including Drama, Science, Creative Arts, Music and had an inspiring and energetic session in Freestyle Football, with our visiting world champion, Ben Nuttall. All the activities went down tremendously well and the pupils enjoyed telling their form tutors about the wonderful things they had been up to at the end of the day, reflecting on how they had felt nervous initially but now can’t wait for Senior School to start! We very much look forward to guiding our talented Year 5 cohort through Year 6 and onto Cranford Senior School over the next academic year.

Looking ahead to their future, our Sixth Form students spent a day understanding the UCAS application process. There was a buzz of anticipation as they explored and booked upcoming university open days and considered future university courses, options of gap years and what super-curricular activities were most valuable in supporting applications. The students enjoyed a picnic lunch by the Thames, before a highly informative workshop on writing ‘Personal Statements’, looking at how to convey passion and intellectual curiosity for a subject of study, as well as portraying themselves as independent and sophisticated learners. This has been supported over the remainder of the week with talks from various universities on how to best select a course, degree apprenticeships and student finance.

Finally, today our Year 10 pupils dipped their toe into Sixth Form life. They all agreed that the day started exceptionally well, with croissants for breakfast, fuelling them for the busy day ahead. They enjoyed experiences of lessons ranging from Sociology, and Psychology, to Mathematics, all the Humanities, Languages, Creative and Performing Arts, Computing and all the Sciences. The pupils also enjoyed the privileges and freedom that comes with being a Sixth Form student at Cranford, including exploring the Sixth Form Common Room, with obligatory hot chocolate on demand, and a trip to Wallingford at lunchtime. This is an important and exciting step for our Year 10 pupils, to understand all that is on offer at Sixth Form including small class sizes, excellent pastoral care and an inspiring and stimulating platform for their next step in education beyond Cranford doors!

Have a lovely weekend!

James Raymond
Headmaster