On Friday 19 th April Ashmeet Virdi (class of 2023) came back to school to speak to Sixth Form students about her experience as a Finance Apprentice. Ashmeet presented to the students about the application process and the resilience she showed to get the apprenticeship she wanted after completing 60+ applications. She shared her top tips on the interview process and also details of how her apprenticeship works with the option of going on to a degree apprenticeship in the future.  Thank you to Ashmeet for taking the time to help our current students.

This term our year 9 students engaged in the JP Morgan Schools Challenge competed in the final event. At the final, our students impressed all of the industry professionals judging the competition. Many people at the event commented on the creativity, professionalism and respectfulness of our students. The J.P. Morgan Schools Challenge is a project that involves 16 of our wonderful year 9 students. In October, students are split into two teams and spend the next 6 months developing sustainability products and business models to eventually present alongside 22 other teams from schools across London. In the final, our Team 23 won the J.P. Morgan Schools Challenge for 2023. We are so proud of all of their hard work and their dedication to the challenge. We also had two students who won influencer awards which means that out of the192 students involved in the Challenge they were the two most involved pupils on the challenge platform. I am immensely proud of the hard work and determination of these groups of students.

This term, the Year 12 Sociology pupils had the opportunity to attend the annual London youth conference hosted by the Mulberry School.  Now in its 22nd year, this award-winning annual conference brings Sixth Form students together from a range of backgrounds to explore issues of common concern, including themes of equality and social justice, demonstrating that young people have the power to make a difference in their communities and on the world stage. This year the conference explored 'disrupting discrimination' and how the arts and storytelling are important tools for social change. Pupils were able to have informative discussions with their peers and create powerful pieces of artwork to exhibit their messages. Some pupils focused their creative pieces on the War in Palestine, whilst other students designed initiatives to tackle World Hunger. The topics were endless. The pupils found the conference enjoyable with one describing it as “eye opening” as they got to hear powerful speeches from refugees and charity workers. The pupils felt the conference could not have come at a better time with the celebrations of World Book Day and International Women’s Day!

Last week, groups of our Year 10 and 12 students visited Sandown Race Course for the Post-16 and Degree Apprenticehip Days respectively. The students took a lot away from the course, being able to talk to and meet propsective employers. The students were excellent role models for the school and came away motivated by the opportunities available to them. Our thanks to Mr Hamill for organising the trip.

Vision and Voice Project with Cambridge Oracy and The National Gallery

Joseph Adesanya (class of 2021) came back to School on Thursday 15 th February to speak to Y12 students in assembly about his year out working with The Bank of England. Joseph is studying for a degree in Finance at Loughborough University and has taken a year out to work in the banking industry with The Bank of England. He talked Y12 students through the role of the Bank of England and his personal route into working for them before explaining other possible careers within the Bank.  Thank you to Joseph for giving up your time!

On a recent J.P. Morgan trip, students embarked on a unique journey to the Out of Order Design workshop in London. Armed with a diverse array of tools and supplies, they passionately delved into the creation of their sustainability prototypes, showcasing their innovative prowess. Students have been planning these projects for the last 5 months. The culmination of their efforts was not only in the prototypes but also in honing their presentation skills for the impending final. Students will travel to the Oval cricket ground next month to present their prototypes and presentations to industry professionals. They were very impressive in their professionalism and ability to collaborate effectively. Here are some pictures from the trip. Thank you to MIss Rauth for arranging.

The Year 7 Vision and Voices group completed their second workshop in collaboration with the National Gallery and Cambridge Oracy. This engaging session focused on philosophical enquiry facilitated by open and closed questions. Throughout the workshop, students developed their oracy skills by actively participating in group discussions and deliberations centered around artwork displayed at the National Gallery. The workshop played a pivotal role in fostering a collaborative learning environment where students developed a deeper understanding of employing open questions to stimulate philosophical inquiries. The enthusiastic involvement of all students showcased their commitment to enhancing both their oracy skills and critical thinking abilities in the realm of art and philosophy. Quotes from students: "“I loved when we spoke nicely to each other when talking about philosophical enquiries as I was already hot on this topic.”  “I Learnt that closed questions can have one answer but on the other hand, open questions come with many enquiries and answers mostly. But open question helps to have philosophical enquiry which has almost basically no answer, they really make you think.”

Ofsted Inspection, 22-23 November 2023