The Coopers` Company and Coborn School Autumn

Transcription

The Coopers' Company and Coborn School
Autumn 2013 Newsletter
Message from The Head
Student Achievements
School Trips & Expeditions
PSHE
Key Stage 4 Matters
Music Department News
Drama Department News
PE Department News
The View from the Sixth Form
Careers Department News
Charity Update
Sustainability at Coopers
Enrichment
House System Update
PA News
2—3
4—7
8—17
18
19—22
23—26
27
28—34
35—38
39—40
41—46
47—51
52
53—54
55
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"The Coopers' Company and Coborn School”
July 2013
Autumn Term Newsletter 2013
MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER
This has been a term of rich achievement at the school, as will be seen from the contents of this
newsletter. Indeed, the narratives suggest a top class fee paying institution in places! We are proud
of our students and our staff who give so generously of their time to provide such a broad education.
We are very grateful to you, as parents, who support your children‘s involvement in school life.
It is pleasing to have the support of parents for our ‗zero tolerance‘ with regard to students‘ uniform
and appearance. They are markedly smarter this term and we are determined to maintain this high
standard. Unfortunately, I have had to exclude several students for extreme haircuts. We have
reminded students of the school‘s regulations:
For boys: ‗Hair must not be dyed, cropped very short (number one or two) or worn excessively
long – certainly not so long that it would need to be tied back. No 'steps' or extreme styles and no
excessive use of gel or mousse or similar substances. Appearance should be neat and tidy.‘
For girls: ‗Hair must not be dyed, cropped very short or worn loose if excessively long. Hair bows and
ribbons must be plain RED or DARK NAVY. ‗
As a senior leadership team, we are on duty at the school gate at the beginning and end of the day.
We are obviously checking up on uniform and general appearance but we also greet the students in
the morning and say farewell when they leave. These courtesies are important and it is heartening
that the students themselves now also exchange such pleasantries with us. Visitors to the school
always comment on the uniquely studious and courteous ambiance here.
The new House system is becoming well-embedded in the life of the school, with students proud to
be a member of their House. E Praise was launched at the beginning of term and is having a very
positive impact on students‘ motivation and aspiration. The newly introduced Inter-House
competitions are also firing up House allegiance. Students have designed House crests and we
intend to have all four crests on display as pride of place in Coborn Court.
We are delighted at the number of students who now cycle to school, rather than come in by car,
bus or train, but would like to encourage more girls to come in by this mode of transport. Girls are
allowed to cycle to school wearing PE shorts or Coopers‘ tracksuit bottoms as long as, of course,
they change into full school uniform when they arrive here. We urge all students who cycle in to
wear cycle helmets.
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In October, I sent you a copy of this year‘s School Development Plan and I am pleased to tell you
that we are making very good progress in the six key areas cited. This is a great school but it would
be foolish and arrogant to be complacent: there are still some inconsistencies in the frequency and
quality of marking. We will continue to address this issue next term, seeing it as key to improving
the quality of learning and teaching. Early indications are that the examination classes will yield
strong results in the summer.
At the beginning of this term, Dr Ian Frood stepped down as Chair of Governors after eight years in
office. A former student at the school, Dr Frood is Coopers to the core and the School is very grateful
for his tenacious and rigorous support as Chair. Fortunately for the school, he has now been elected
as Chair of the Foundation. As you know, two other former students of the school have now been
elected as Chair and Vice Chair of Governors: Ms Jacey Graham and Mr Simon Miller.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my first two terms as headteacher. It is a privilege to lead a school which
has high aspiration and ‗Love as Brethren‘ at its core. I could not hope for a more wonderful set of
students: they are a great credit to you.
With best wishes for an enjoyable and restful festive season.
Dr David Parry
Headteacher
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STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
GSCE Results—2013
The number of students in Year 11 who took GCSEs was 180 and
93% of students gained 5 A* - C‘s with 58% achieving the new
Government benchmark of the English Baccalaureate.
Individual Success Stories
Jake Hummell achieved 11 A*s, a fantastic achievement and very
much due to his diligence and hard work throughout the year. Jake
has gone on to study A-Levels here at Coopers in subjects including
Maths and Chemistry and hopes to pursue a career in the Scientific
area.
Phoebe Keates also achieved 11 A*s, another phenomenal
achievement. She is also attending Coopers‘ Sixth Form and
studying History, Geography, French and Maths at A-Level. Phoebe
is unsure what she is going to do in her future career so is keeping
her options open with a varied diet of A-Levels.
Hannah King achieved 10 A*s and 1 A. Hannah is an extremely
motivated student who writes with exquisite detail and flair.
Hannah is also staying on at Coopers to study English, History,
Geography and PE. Hannah is also an excellent Hockey player and
appeared at the school‘s National Finals last year.
Lydia Hallam who, this year won the London Mini-Marathon, proved
that it is not only sport that she excels in. Lydia achieved a fantastic
9 A*s, 1 A and 1 B showing she is able to balance her hectic
training schedule exceptionally well with academic study to achieve
outstanding results.
Twins, Tom and Ben Dance have always been highly motivated and
committed students, involving themselves fully in the
extra-curricular life, of the school. They reached the National Finals
in the 4x4 Schools Technology Challenge this year (finishing 7th in
the country). Between them they racked up 9 A*s, 9 As and 2 Bs.
What is particularly impressive about our students‘ GCSE results is
that so many of them manage to involve themselves in a wide
range of extra-curricular activities, as well as devoting a great deal
of time to academic study.
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Another ex-student, Caroline Powell, has been training and racing in New Zealand this year as a ski-guide for
visually impaired skier Jade Etherington who is due to compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
They have done very well in their discipline coming 2nd and 3rd in two World -Cup I.P.C slalom races, at
Coronet Peak NZ, which puts them on track for the Paralympics. Caroline is excelling well within her sport of
ski racing and the responsibility of guiding a visual impaired skier down a race course as fast as you can go
through the gates has taken her to another level. The art of communicating through headsets in their helmets
and portraying an enormous amount of trust between them when racing makes them an amazing pair to
watch.
Caroline will only be home for a short while and then they are off to Austria. Their programme is very hectic
and demanding, she is enjoying it, but it is tiring and exhausting at times.
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Christmas Card and Tree Decoration
Dr Parry chose a bauble design created by Michaela Hyatt 11.4.
This has been transformed into the real decoration and photographed for the annual school
Christmas card. Thanks to Martha Ellis for her photographic input and Music for the loan of their
tree for the photo shoot!
This was a tough choice as there were so many good designs submitted.
The two runners up were Danielle Basstoe 10.5 and Joseph Brereton 8.4 who each received 5 house
points. All other student entries were awarded 1 house point.
Miss C Brennan
Subject Leader of Graphics & Resistant Materials
Senior Maths Challenge
Special congratulations go to the Further Mathematicians in Years 12 and 13. In
the recent UK Senior Maths Challenge a record breaking 85% of those that took
part achieved Bronze, Silver or Gold certification. Special mention goes to
Ethan Pang and Jake Hummell who were top in their respective years and in
addition Jake qualified to go through to the next round of challenges.
Philip Collins
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Harry and Charlie Fox both completed
their Channel Swim. The team started
out at 4:39am and completed the full
distance in a time of 8 hours and 26
minutes. It is officially the 5th fastest
swim by a relay team ever.
The team have also managed to raise
over £4000 for their chosen charities
and this is still rising by the day!
Sheila Atim, who is an incredibly talented ex-student, has
been playing at the Shakespeare Globe in
‗The Lightning Child‘ by Che Walker.
This is a wonderful achievement for Sheila.
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Page 7
SCHOOL TRIPS & EXPEDITIONS
Year 12 Trip to Hertford College, University Of Oxford
On Tuesday 22nd October certain Year 12 students were extremely lucky to be able to visit one of
the colleges within the esteemed University of Oxford. After a long coach journey we were able to
walk through a small part of Oxford where we briefly saw iconic sights such as the Sheldonian and
the Bodleian Library until we reached Hertford College. Once we were inside the college everybody
was taken to 'The Old Library'. Here we were given a tutorial style session by Dr Jamie Castell. As a
group we analysed one of William Wordsworth's poems and tried to come to a conclusion about
what the poem was trying to convey and the techniques used. The university style of teaching was
very different when compared to our normal lessons in Coopers. After the academic session we ate
lunch in Hertford College Halls which was very generous of the college to supply and a really surreal
experience to be eating in the same room as all of the students, with grand portraits hanging on the
wall. Next we were given a tour around the college where we were able to visit the college library
and cross the Bridge of Sighs which connected two different buildings. All of our questions were
answered as we saw teaching spaces and stood in the courtyards outside the students‘ rooms. We
then returned to 'The Old Library' for a presentation on the admissions process and how to apply to
Oxford and Cambridge. To finish the day we were
able to have a question and answer session with
two students beginning their second year at
Hertford. One girl studied Maths whilst the
other read Biology. Overall, the day was
amazingly interesting and I feel that all the
students who had the opportunity to go really
enjoyed it and are inspired to aim to apply to
study at some of the country's top institutions.
Francesca Killoran
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Year 12 Visit to the Houses of Parliament
In October we had the opportunity to visit the Houses of Parliament to supplement our learning in AS Politics.
We were therefore able to form our own opinions and use our knowledge of what we had learnt so far to
understand the current parliamentary system.
We began our tour in the House of Commons, giving us an understanding of what it must be like to scrutinize
and make laws for the country. We learnt that 650 Members of Parliament are elected in the UK and this
equates to 650 seats in the Commons. We were asked questions by our tour guide about what we knew
about Parliament and the operations of the Commons as an institution most vital to the running of our
country. The most interesting question we were asked was what we thought of the current Coalition
Government. The questions that our tour guide asked really made us think about the kind of political theories
that exist and the kind of questions that we should be interested in being answered.
We then walked through to the House of Lords where there was a noticeable difference, both in the grandeur
of the interior, and the structure. In the House of Commons, people are able to sit in the gallery and watch
debates and while this is true of the Lords also, the House of Commons seemed much simpler and open to
the public in terms of the format, layout and modest furnishings. In the House of Lords the decoration is
lavish red and gold still representing that we have a monarch as Head of State. We also learnt that it wasn't
until recently that more sensitive cases within the House of Lords have begun to be televised.
One of the integral features of the Houses of Parliament that many people would recognise is most
commonly featured on the news from which reporters deliver news segments. This is Central Lobby. Our tour
guide told us that the stained glass artwork in Central Lobby represents different saints,
signifying the separate historic countries of the UK. It was hard to comprehend how much history was in one
place with various paintings depicting key events in our nation‘s history, and statues of former
Prime Ministers that are intrinsic to our national heritage.
Our favourite part of the day, where we think we learnt the most, was when we had the opportunity to meet
our MP for Upminster and Hornchurch, Angela Watkinson. She allowed us to ask any
questions that we had, and answered very candidly. This gave us further insight to the workings of
Parliament, most specifically the House of Commons. She spoke about how she became an MP and how her
political views and ideology have changed from right wing to more centre right as her role and experiences
have changed within the Conservative Party over time. Overall, it was a very enriching experience and one we
all thoroughly enjoyed.
Shannon Haggerty and Eve Rivers
Year 12 Visit to Institution of Education
The Year 12 ASICT students went to the Institute of Education to listen
to a series of lectures from leading figures in the IT industry. They
heard from Barclaycard about changes to how goods are paid for
(contactless transactions). The Zoological Society demonstrated how
they track endangered animals. IBM talked about open source
software and there was a debate on whether or not the Government
should have greater control over the internet. As one student said
―Isn‘t every job IT based?‖
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French Exchange
A big highlight of the term was the French Exchange – a memorable experience and a fantastic
opportunity for students to improve their language skills. From the 10 th to 17th October a group from
Years 10 and 12 hosted French exchange partners for a week, taking part in a variety of fun
activities ranging from bowling to visiting Buckingham Palace.
Independently, students went to Camden and
the South Bank, introducing their French
exchange partners to English culture and the
wonderful British meal that is fish and chips.
Although a few did not approve of this
traditional delicacy, everyone enjoyed the trip
and it turned out to be a great bonding
experience.
On the Tuesday, the group went to numerous
places in London with the school, including
Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Covent
Garden and Westfield. Thankfully, the weather
was nice so the day was very enjoyable.
Everybody had a brilliant time. It was a good learning experience for both the hosts and visitors, and
many friends were made along the way. The Coopers‘ students eagerly await their visit to Brittany
next year.
Interview with Professor Brian Cox & Matt Smith
Callum Mackie-Reynolds (Year 11) and Oscar Heath-Stephens (Year 10) recently met Professor
Brian Cox and Dr Who, Matt Smith.
We met Brian Cox on a Dr Who set where
he was filming with Matt Smith for ‗The
Science of Dr Who'. We all went for lunch in
Matt Smith's caravan, during which
Brian Cox spoke about meeting
Stephen Hawking.
We discussed time
travel and found it was theoretically
possible. Brian Cox's theories were pretty
amazing and he was a very nice person.
Callum Mackie-Reynolds
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Year 7 Bowles Trip
Year 7 recently undertook a week-long residential at Bowles Outdoor Education Centre in
Tunbridge Wells. We were relatively fortunate with the weather and a good time was had by all, with
many lasting memories and funny moments. Some of the activities included the Leap of Faith,
Rockclimbing, Skiing, Ropes Course, Archery, Drama and Singing. A massive thanks to all the staff
that gave up their time to accompany the students on the trip: Mr Bain, Mr Barker, Mrs Brooks,
Mr Dove, Ms Johnson, Mrs Regan, Mr Richards, Miss Ryder, Miss Taylor, Mrs Warren, Miss Williams,
Mr Williams, Miss Woods. Bring on 2014.
Mr Peoples
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The Aziziye Mosque
On Tuesday 22nd October and Thursday 24nd October Year 8 visited the Aziziye Mosque in Stoke
Newington for an educational experience and to learn about Muslim life and art.
The first thing we did was take the train to the Mosque. We then we went into the Mosque. When
we went into the Mosque we had to remove our shoes. If we were Islamic we would have had to do
wudu which is where you wash your face, hands, arms, legs and feet.
When we had our shoes off, we went into the prayer room and we talked to Shahnawaz Haq who is
an Imam at the Mosque and leads the sermon there on Fridays. We heard about some of the
beautiful calligraphy that was written on the walls, and how it depicted passages from the Qu‘ran.
We learnt about how Muslims don't depict humans or animals in their artwork for fear that they
falsely depict the Prophet Muhammad or God. This helped us with our Islamic Art assessment that
we went on to complete in RE.
Then we went to the Aziziye Restaurant and had pizza without the tomato on it. For dessert we had
ice cream with strawberry sauce. That was delicious. To finish off a day of educational experience
we watched the afternoon prayer. It was really interesting to watch local Muslim men and women
take part in their daily prayers, and some Year 8s joined in with the prayer as well, as they knew the
ritual to complete.
Thomas Owen
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Thurrock SACRE RE Conference
When I went to a conference aimed at letting children understand how and why you believe what you do, I'm
not sure what I expected. Some of the kids were surprised at what we said and some were really interested;
but all of them had a lot of questions.
There were eight tables, each with about six children on, and one or two 'ambassadors' went with each group
and answered six questions about their beliefs. We had a chance to look at the questions and think about
our answers before we went. There were many different religions including Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, a
Wiccan, and an Atheist, so they had varied answers. Afterwards, the children did an activity on what they'd
learnt and what their own beliefs were.
Many of the children didn't seem to know much about other belief systems (I got a lot of- 'but wait, how can't
you believe in any God!?' questions) so I can definitely see how days like this can help expand their
knowledge and broaden their horizons.
Jessica Lovell
Year 11 Art Department visit to the Tate Britain
It was a pleasure to take the Year 11 Art students to the Tate Britain on 21st October. The gallery
had had a complete overall and many new works were in place. The students spent their time
researching ideas for the upcoming project and few failed to be inspired.
Taking
photographs in the park was engaging and inspired many to take a fresh look at the world about
them. Student behaviour was exemplary, showing courtesy to the public on the trains and walk,
and exercising maturity in the gallery with its many complex artworks.
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Ypres
Going to Ypres on Friday 11th October was an absolutely amazing experience. I got to see some things for the
first time that overwhelmed me. The things I learned during this day were astonishing. The amount that the
soldiers endured and suffered and the effort they made to fight for their country is unimaginable. Going to
Ypres has changed the way I think about life today and has made me feel ever so grateful for those incredibly
brave men. It meant even more to me to know that some of the men that died in this war went to the school
that I go to now. They died at such a young age. We spent the day going around Belgium looking at many
cemeteries and memorials. We had two guides that came around with us all day who gave us information
about some specific people that died during the war. Some of these people were amazing and incredibly inspiring.
Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery
This was one of the first cemeteries that I had been to. It was hard to take in
the amount of graves that were there as each grave represented the loss of
one person. I never knew that a cemetery could be that big. It made me feel
very emotional and upset. During the First World War, the village of
Lijssenthoek was situated on the main communication line between the
Allied military bases in the rear and the Ypres battlefields. Close to the Front,
but out of the extreme range of most German field artillery, it became a
natural place to establish casualty clearing stations. The cemetery was first
used by the French 15th Hopital D'Evacuation and in June 1915, it began to
be used by casualty clearing stations of the Commonwealth forces. Ian (our
tour guide) took us to a specific grave in the cemetery. This grave was of a nurse called Nellie Spindler.
Nellie Spindler was a member of Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. In August 1917, during
the first three weeks of the Third Battle of Ypres she was serving as a nurse with 44th Casualty Clearing
Station (CCS) at Brandhoek, five kilometres east of Poperinghe. On 21 st August 1917 the CCS at Brandhoek
was hit by German artillery shells. Five nurses including Nellie were concussed by the explosions. Nellie died a
few minutes later from an injury to her chest. Her body was brought to the cemetery at Lijssenthoek for
burial. Over one hundred Officers, four Generals and the Surgeon-General attended the funeral. She was aged
26 and the daughter of George and Elizabeth Spindler from Wakefield Yorkshire. Nellie is one of only two
British female casualties of the First World War to be buried in Belgium. This story was really emotional for
me as she was one of two British Female casualties and I got to see that grave.
Voomezeele Cemetery
Because it meant so much to us, even though it wasn‘t on our schedule, we stopped
at a small cemetery called Voomezeele Cemetery and gave a minute of silence for
respect and to salute the boy named Harold Allfrey Taylor who died at a young age of
25 all who went to Coopers School. During the moment of silence I was thinking of
him and all the other boys that fought in this war. It meant a lot to see the grave of a
member of our school.
Bayernwald
Thirdly, we went to a place where we got to see a German
trench. I was very surprised as I had not pictured it to look the way it did. The trench
was not in a straight line but in many curved lines. Ian explained that it was so if an
enemy threw a grenade into the trench then it would only damage a small bit. If the
trench was straight then the grenade would damage nearly all of it.
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The Germans had a long grenade that could be thrown further. The English grenades were in a small circular
shape and could not be thrown as far, but the grenade had squares all over it so that when it exploded all of
the squares would come off, and shoot off in different directions. The grenades were made to explode in a
certain amount of time after pulling the cord. Sometimes the grenades were thrown backwards and forwards
between trenches, so they changed the waiting time to a lot shorter. Therefore there was a better chance of
the grenade exploding in the enemies trench. Ian showed us a fake German and English grenade. I found this
piece of information very interesting. We were able to walk around the trench. I didn‘t realise how long it
was, and it must have taken ages to build them. It started to rain which made walking around the trench
even more realistic. It was very fascinating and I pictured myself being there. Ian showed us some pictures of
soldiers surviving and fighting in the trenches and told us how muddy and wet it was. When walking around
the trench we saw a well and some big holes - a bit like caves where I think they must have slept.
Near the trench there was a model of the playing fields of the German and English trenches, including the
German second line. Each dent represented where a shell had gone off. In some places the trenches were
incredibly close; this must have been very scary and intense for the soldiers. This model enabled me to understand everything a lot better. I couldn‘t imagine being in the front line being told to go over into no mans land.
If you didn‘t go over the top then you would get shot for not being brave.
Menin Gate List of Names
We then went to Ypres for our fourth stop of the day. We walked around the Menin Gate
which is full of many names of people who died. When walking around the Menin Gate I felt a
mix of emotions. Each name represented a loss and there were so many filling these
massive walls, I was overwhelmed. There were so many names that not all could be fit on the
wall. This goes to show just how many people lost their lives and how many families it
affected. This astonished me as I had never seen this many names and to think that each and
every name represented a death, and there were thousands of more memorials shown in other places. I just
could not believe what such tragedy it may have brought to everyone. This place really meant something to
me. The Battles of the Ypres Salient claimed many lives on both sides and it quickly became clear that the
commemoration of members of the Commonwealth forces with no known grave would have to be divided
between several different sites.
The site of the Menin Gate was chosen because of the hundreds of thousands of men who passed through it
on their way to the battlefields. It commemorates casualties from the forces of Australia, Canada, India,
South Africa and United Kingdom who died in the Salient. In the case of UK casualties, only those prior to
16th August 1917 (some exceptions) were on the wall. UK and New Zealand servicemen who died after that
date are named on the memorial at Tyne Cot, a site which marks the furthest point reached by
Commonwealth forces in Belgium until nearly the end of the war. New Zealand casualties that died prior to
16 August 1917 are commemorated on memorials at Buttes New British Cemetery and Messines Ridge
British Cemetery. We searched for some of the names of the old boys from our school.
The Chocolate Shop
Everyone was looking forward to the chocolate shop. The smell as we walked into the chocolate
made everyone really happy and excited. We each got given a sample of chocolate which really
got us in the mood for a lovely treat. I had never tried Belgium chocolate before and it tasted
great! My parents were lucky that there was any left by the time I had got home. The man in the
shop was really loud and gave us great deals. I got two chocolate bars, milk and white. We got
two golden boxes of Belgium chocolates and then three free gifts from the shelf. I had some
fudge, flying saucers and then a chocolate cat and dog for my parents. Then if we thought there was going to
be any more, we got a free packet of marshmallows when we brought something! Everyone was smiling and
excited as we walked out of the shop. YUM!
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Essex Farm Dressing Station and Cemetery
The next place we went to was called Essex Farm. Essex Farm was used
as an advanced dressing station between April 1915 and August 1917.
Being based near to the front line trenches, the station gave first aid care
to the wounded before casualties were transferred to a Casualty Clearing
Station. To begin with the dressing station was just a series of dugouts cut
into the western side spoil-bank of the Ypres Canal that runs behind Essex
Farm Cemetery. However, it eventually gained more permanent concrete
shelters that remain to this day which is what we saw. Ian told us that these were rooms where first aid took place trying to heal as many people as they could. Ian told us some
gruesome stories about WW1, for instance how harmful a shot in the body can be. The entrance hole is small
but if the bullet goes all the way through your body then the exit hole is massive. It breaks tissues and bones
and also, the soldiers were obviously wearing clothes, therefore when the bullet goes through your body it
bring the clothes into your wound. You would then fall to the floor but all the mud would get into your wound
making it worse. Ian said that some fall to the floor in so much pain that they cannot stand up, meaning they
drown in all the wet mud. This was not a pleasant story but shows how terrifying the fight must have been.
Near to this concrete building is a memorial to Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae who wrote the poem ―In
Flanders Field the Poppies Blow‖. We all read the wonderful poem which McCrae wrote. While still at the battlefront during the second battle of Ypres, John McCrae performed a burial service for his good friend and former student Alexis Helmer. The next day, on May 3rd, 1915 McCrae reportedly sat on the step of an
ambulance wagon and composed what is now considered to be the world‘s most famous and
recognised war memorial poem, ‗In Flanders Fields‘.
What really shocked me was when Ian took us to a certain grave at the cemetery. It
was of a boy called Rifleman Valentine Joe Strudwick. We didn‘t know why there were
so many poppies and flowers by his grave, but then I noticed he died at the young age
of 15. This made my heart sink as he was basically my age. He must have been such a
brave man. Ian told me that some boys lie about their age because they are so desperate to be in the war. I didn‘t understand why they would want to but I think it is to get
more money for their family or to be able to travel. People from many places come to
this cemetery just to see the grave of this boy, which is how big an impact he made on
us. I don‘t think they knew how bad it would be. I respect and salute this incredible
boy.
Langemark German Cemetery
Next we went to a German cemetery which was totally
different to any English one. Instead of having big graves, they
had small square ones flat on the floor. They were all black
and had no flowers what so ever. The Germans think that the
way we show graves is as if we are trying to celebrate death. I
can see where they are coming from. Oak trees surrounded the
cemetery. Oak Trees present a more gloomy aspect than the
rows of immaculate white Portland Stones but that maybe
reflects a different national attitude. The whole atmosphere of
this place was very different it felt very different compared to
being near English graves.
Page 16
On one side of the cemetery there were four men standing in a row. At first I didn‘t quite understand why but
then Ian explained to us that it is called the Statue of the Mourning Soldiers. We were told that the inspiration
was a photograph of soldiers from the Reserve-Infantry-Regiment 238. The photograph was taken in 1918 as
the soldiers mourned at the grave of a comrade. This became a well known photograph which appeared in
the German press during 1918. I remember Ian telling us that the man on the second right was killed two
days after the day the photograph was taken.
Tyne Cot Cemetery
This was the final place that we visited. I couldn‘t believe what I
saw grave upon grave filled the whole space. I thought that the
first place we went to was big, but this was incredibly massive. It
broke my heart knowing that each grave stone represented a
loss of a brave person. It was very interesting to see all the
different graves. There were many different shapes, each shape
represented a religion and also engraved on each grave it
showed what nationality each person was. The graves that I
found particularly interesting were one that was shaped as a star
which meant they were Jews. Instead of Jews using flowers to
show their respect, they put stones on the grave. I found this
really interesting, as I had never seen this before.
There were 3587 identified casualties and it is now the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world in
terms of burials. There were not just graves here but many walls full of names, and also big memorials with
some names on. We found a name that was one of the old boys. As we were in such an amazing place, we
decided to do a moment of silence. After the minute of silence we had a poem read out by James Bowser,
then Emily Mellows and I (Emma Edgell-Reeves) laid down a wreath which I wrote saying ―In memory of the
old boys of Coopers‘ Company School who gave their lives in the great war. ‗Love as Brethren‘. ‗Love as
Brethren‘ is our school Motto.
I found the trip fascinating in Ypres and quite moving at points. It helped me to realise what a huge situation
World War One was. The amount of people that were wounded and killed is unbelievable and to think that a
large amount of people died over such a small bit of land is upsetting. To see it all for myself has made me
think differently about life today. The trip was even more warming because there were some that died who
were from Coopers‘ Company School; some were only a couple of years older than me. They went from learning in a school to fighting for their country. I praise and salute those incredible men.
By Emma Edgell-Reeves, 9.7
Page 17
PSHE
The first two PSHE days ran very smoothly thanks to staff and outside speakers and organisations.
The Year 8 students went to Thames Chase for an environmental day. This included activities such
as orienteering, photography, pond dipping, making banners, making bags from denim, a scarecrow
from recyclable goods for the garden club and accessing the centre‘s play trail. They went to
Stubbers for their second day and were involved in numerous team building activities and many
pupils overcame their fear of dark, small places by entering and successfully navigating themselves
out of the tunnels.
The Year 7s had a theatre production, drama workshop, creative work and a talk about relationships
as the theme for the day. Their second day at school was focused around safety in the home where
the Fire Brigade did a presentation. Safety in the swimming pool included resuscitation; whilst on
the tennis courts the pupils learnt how to care and maintain their bicycles. The Police and bus
company also presented how to behave on the buses and railways, a learning experience for them
all.
Page 18
KEY STAGE 4 MATTERS
It‘s a great pleasure to head up Key Stage 4 and work with such a good team: Jules Teece (Head of
Year 11), Rachna Kanzaria (Head of Year 10) Sarah Brooks (Assistant to Head of Key Stage 4)
Jackie Jenkins SEN and lastly but by no means least, Jacqui Eades (Key Stage 4 Mentor). As a new
team we have already made some changes:
Key Stage 4 Learning Zone – this is a facility for all in Year 10 and 11 to use if they need or want to
do any quiet work; such as catching up on missed work, revising or even quiet reading at lunchtime
between 1.30 and 2.10pm. We have a member of staff on duty and the area covers 2 classrooms
and a computer room. This facility is being used on a daily basis by up to 30 students
approximately.
Year 11 Prefects – this initiative of Dr Parry‘s is already up and running; with 2 lead Prefects:
Fleur Sumption and Isobel Ives and 10 Prefects: Suzana Anjum, Ben Carter, Amy Hampsheir-Gill,
Charlie Hardcastle, Michaela Hyatt, Rebecca Kennedy, Kirsty McNunn, Olivia Penny, Emily Stratton
and Harry Wilson. They have already have helped to organise events such as the Year 11 Parents
Evening.
Page 19
KEY STAGE 4 MATTERS
But we are also carrying on with the many traditions that we value:
Year 11 Safe Drive Stay Alive
Around 1 in 4 deaths that occur on roads are people who are aged
16 to 24. This is mainly due to inexperience behind the wheel, a
lack of knowledge of situations or a lack of attention due to
distractions. ‗Safe Drive, Stay Alive‘ is a campaign to try to make
Britain‘s roads safer by educating students of the consequences of
unsafe driving. The presentation is not taught in the traditional
sense; instead testimonies are used from people who have
experienced the reality of unsafe driving.
‗Safe Drive, Stay Alive‘ is brought to Year 11 pupils in every
secondary school in Havering. I found the experience very moving; the real life stories put this into
perspective. Accounts by paramedics, traffic police officers, fire-fighters, an A&E trauma nurse and
people whose lives have been affected by fatal road traffic accidents. They talked about both their
professional and personal experiences of dangers on the road. These included instances of
teenagers dying in crashes because they drove too fast and more than one instance when a life
could have been saved if a seatbelt had been worn.
The story that stood out and really hit home for me was when Nick shared his story about his crash,
which happened on his way to work, left him in a coma, and resulted in him being severely injured.
From the moment that Nick came onto the stage the attention of the audience was focused on him
and many people were shocked into silence as the true consequences of a car crash were displayed
in a real life example. When he explained that he was only 18, and was previously an active
snowboarder and sportsman, I felt saddened and it made me realise how lucky I am. It also made
me aware of the fact that incidents like this can happen to anyone at any time and therefore
highlights why it is very important to drive safely.
Although ‗Safe Drive, Stay Alive‘ was not that easy to watch or listen to, it is absolutely vital that
teenagers are educated about the dangers of the road before they get behind the wheel. It made me
understand that driving dangerously does not only affect you but you would be putting other
people‘s lives at risk and causing family and friends emotional suffering, which could have been
avoided by simply driving in a safe way. I am grateful to all the people who spoke at ‗Safe Drive,
Stay Alive‘ and especially the brave people like Nick who, despite their own pain and grief, were able
to share their life-shattering stories in an attempt to stop the same thing happening to another
family.
(Report by Emily Stratton)
Page 20
KEY STAGE 4 MATTERS
Year 11 Bow Party – It has been a great
pleasure to see how Year 11 worked together
to raise over £2000 for the Bow Party and to
see how well they interacted and helped the
partially-sighted children from Joseph
Clarke School.
Year 13 students offered themselves up
in an auction to become ‗servants‘ to the
highest bidder. Joe Simpson & Alex
Dunne in Year 13 were ‗bought‘ by
Mrs Eades who dressed them up and
named them ‗The Drag Queen Sopranos‘.
She then made them do her shredding & washing up, sent them off into town
to get her lunch from Marks & Spencer and, for their finale, they had to sing ‗Bohemian
Rhapsody‘ to everyone in the Sixth Form. Well done to them for being such good sports!
Other fundraising included All the Fun of the Fair, car washing, waffle making and Zumba!
Page 21
KEY STAGE 4 MATTERS
Year 11 Bow Party – A big thank you goes out to all in Year 11, plus Form Tutors, Miss Kanzaria,
Mrs Eades, Mrs Jenkins and, of course, Mr Teece. The photos show the event better than any words.
Gill Golding. Assistant Head I/C Key Stage 4
Page 22
MUSIC DEPARTMENT NEWS
Lodge Hill
The Music Department took 64 students on the annual Music Residential to the
Lodge Hill Centre in Pulborough, West Sussex at the end of September. The three
days involved composing and performing in both small and large groups, as well
as some team building activities with our 6th Form Music Captains. We were very
grateful to Mr Duncan for coming to work with and support the students.
Two competitions were run during the visit: The Marathon, which was won by Georgia Hoggart (Year 9) with
her commanding conducting of the School Song, and a Talent Show which Dante Coates (Year 8) won overall
with an amazing performance of Sweet Child Of Mine on the electric guitar.
The students performed Can You Feel the Love Tonight from the Lion King and The Flintstones theme in the
Christmas Concert on Tuesday 4th December.
Cloker Service
On Wednesday 9th October the Senior Choir and Brass Ensemble performed at the
annual Cloker Service at St Botolph-wiithout-Bishopsgate in the City. The Choir
sang The Lord’s My Shepherd and Irish Blessing by Bob Chilcott and the Brass
ensemble accompanied the hymns, alongside the organ. This was the first official
Coopers‘ event some of our choir members had participated in and was a great
way to induct them into the traditions of the Company.
Mansion House
Once again, the Symphonic Wind Band was invited
to perform at the Lord Mayor‘s Banquet given by
the Coopers‘ Company at Mansion House on 15th November. They performed
a selection of pieces including Mancini!, an Abba Medley and selections from
Les Miserables. We welcomed back some former students to perform with
the band including Michael Badley, Robert Moseley and Tom Bryant.
Rebecca Silverman was also invited back to serenade the guests with
You’ll Never Walk Alone and Jerusalem.
Page 23
Christmas Concerts
The Christmas Concerts came around very quickly this year, with an additional one added to the usual four!
On Monday 2nd December Palmer Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Band, Junior Choir, Year 7 Band, Coborn
Singers, Sax Ensemble, Year 7 Singers (7.1-7.4), Double Bass Quartet and the
Jazz Quintet performed. The soloists were
Henry Coke (Year 7) who sang Walking in the Air
from the Snowman, Hannah Ramanathan (Year 8),
Jonathan Newby (Year 12) and Katherine Tweddle
(Year 13).
On Tuesday 3rd December Senior Choir, Lodge Hill
Band, Wind Quintet, Gibson Orchestra, Ratcliffe
Band, Brass Quintet, Big Band and Year 7 Singers
(7.5-7.8) performed a range of pieces including SkyFall, Lully, Lulla Lullay and
Can You Feel the Love Tonight? The Gibson Orchestra performed the topical
I Am The Doctor. Dante Coates (Year 8),
Holly Rhodes (Year 8), Hannah Chen (Year 9)
and Annabelle Jupp (Year 12) were the
soloists.
Hope and Homes
We were very pleased to have been invited to provide the music for the
Hope and Homes for Children Christmas Carol Concert on 4 th December.
56 members of Senior Choir, Coborn Singers, Junior Choir and the Brass
Ensemble headed down to St Mary Abbots Church, Kensington where
they performed a mixed programme of Christmas pieces, including Mary, Did You Know and Winter
Wonderland. Fleur Sumption performed The Little Road to Bethlehem sensitively and beautifully. The guest
speakers at the concert were BAFTA award winner Edward Fox and Sky Sports F1 reporter Natalie Pinkham,
both of whom are active supporters of Hope and Homes for Children.
St Laurence Carol Concert was a Nine Lessons and Carols service this year. There
was a mixture of music performed by the Senior Choir, Coborn Singers and Junior Choir. Fleur Sumption also be performed The Little Road to Bethlehem during
the service.
Thank you to those parents who came to
support the students at our concerts. We
were thrilled to have so many students
involved in the festivities.
Page 24
Prizegiving
At the time of publication, the Symphonic Wind Band will be providing a musical interlude during the
Prizegiving celebration on Friday 13th December. They will be joined by some of our former students.
Robert Moseley will be performing Romance by Weber on the trombone as he is the winner of both the OCCA
Prize for Musical Accomplishment and the CCCS Young Musician of the Year 2013. He is currently a scholar
at The Royal College of Music.
Britten and Beyond
We have been selected to take part in the Britten and Beyond international twinning project and have been
twinned with the Meitav Vocal Ensemble in Israel, a choir of around 18 members based in Tel Aviv.
The Britten Beyond links Music For Youth and the British Council. The selection process was based on the
choice of music which links in with Benjamin Britten‘s 100 Years. All of our choirs have been learning pieces
by Britten and will be performing them throughout this academic year, including the Junior Choir who have
learned The Birds. Coborn Singers performed This Little Babe from The Ceremony of Carols.
Page 25
Coming Soon
Our annual CCCS Music Festival will be taking place from the 3 rd to the 13th February 2014, with the Finals
Evening being held on the Wednesday 26th February at 7pm in the
Music Theatre.
PTI Mark
The Music, Art and Geography departments are pleased to receive The Prince‘s Teaching Institute Mark for
2012/2013. The Prince‘s Teaching Institute (PTI) launched the Schools‘ Programme in 2007 to recognise
and reward school departments that develop inspirational ideas and activities which enhance the teaching of
Art, English, History, Geography, Science, Mathematics, Modern Foreign Languages and Music, regardless of
their pupils‘ backgrounds or abilities. It is run as a membership group for school departments that choose to
commit to increasing the challenge of their subject provision.
Our Music department received the Mark in recognition of work developing challenge in the curriculum,
enthusing pupils with activities beyond the curriculum and developing the staff‘s own specialist subject
knowledge carried out in 2012/13.
Page 26
DRAMA DEPARTMENT NEWS
Each year the Year 12 Drama and Theatre Studies students create a devised pantomime and
present this to many school children as a festive treat. This year they performed the pantomimes to
family, friends and staff on Monday 16th December. They toured the pantomimes to Buttsbury
Infant School in Billericay and Great Waltham Primary in Great Waltham on Tuesday 17th December
and on Wednesday 18th December local primary schools visited Coopers to see the pantomimes
performed to Year 7 students in the afternoon. This is a wonderful opportunity for the AS
students and the audiences that get to experience a little bit of exciting festive cheer.
Mrs S Brooks
Head of Drama and Theatre Studies, Teacher of Dance and Assistant to KS4 Pastoral Support
16.12.13
Page 27
PE DEPARTMENT NEWS—HOCKEY
A fantastic result for the U16 hockey team who were victorious at the
Essex tournament in October to join the U18 squad in becoming County
champs! Victories against Chigwell, King John, Forest, Brentwood and
Felsted led to them taking the title.
An impressive fact - the U16 trophy has now been won by CCCS for six
years in a row! Well done to everyone past and present that helped
achieve this exceptional record!
Chloe Menear attended the U17 England
High Performance Assessment Camp, whilst
Hannah Bloy represented the U18 Saxon
Tigers at England Hockey's prestigious
Futures Cup, where the England team is also
selected. Well done girls.
The U18 hockey girls continued their fantastic season at
the East of England Finals . The four top schools in the East
played in a round robin with the CCCS girls finishing on top.
They beat Kings Canterbury (Kent) 2-1 with an
accomplished performance and followed up with a
fantastic 1-0 win against Queenswood, Herts. The girls then
battled to the death for a 0-0 draw against Norwich,
Norfolk to take the title. The East Champs now head to the
National
Finals in
February.
The U18 hockey girls also won the East of England Indoor
Finals to make them double East Champs and
National Finalists. Results were: 3-2 v Framingham (Suffolk),
0-0 v Bedford (Beds), 3-1 v Queenswood (Herts),
4-1 v Kimbolton (Cambs), 4-2 v Norwich (Norfolk), 5-1 v Kent
College (Kent) meaning they topped the table. Another
fantastic achievement.
Page 28
PE DEPARTMENT NEWS—BADMINTON
The U18 boys‘ badminton team (along with some
younger students) travelled to Harrow School for an
invitational fixture. All pairings played exceptionally
well, with every match being competitive and
extremely close (9 games were won by just 2 points!).
Harrow had the edge in the doubles but CCCS came
back in the singles to record a 4-4 draw in the U18
event.
What a great result. Harrow said we were the
toughest opposition they had come up against so
far - so a huge compliment. We will return for the
5-schools event in February and an additional invitational fixture in the spring. Well done to all boys
involved.
U18 players - Felix Ngooi, Harry Cannons, Gopal Sagoo, Thushar Jitesh, Jono Murphy, Ethan Pang,
Harjas Sagoo, Callum Taylor-Down.
U14 players - Tobi Dunlea, Flynn Astbury, Oliver Morter and Tom Tevenan.
Well done to the year 7 boys‘ badminton ‗A‘
team who secured a victory against Campion
School winning 5-0.
The Year 11 Badminton team (Nick Wade,
Harjas Sagoo, Dean Price and Victor Okunola)
also secured a convincing 5-0 victory against
Abbs Cross at home. Well done.
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PE DEPARTMENT NEWS - FLORIDA TENNIS TOUR
Mr Duncan organised The Florida Tennis tour during October half term. Everyone had a fantastic week and
some great tennis was played.
Page 30
PE DEPARTMENT NEWS—SWIMMING
Well done to the U15, U16 and U19 boys and girls swimming
teams who competed at Forest School in a
fixture versus the hosts and Bancrofts.
U15 boys - 1st
U15 girls - 1st
U16 boys - 1st
U16 girls - 1st
U19 boys - 1st
U19 girls - 2nd
What a fantastic performance.
National Swimming Finals
The school swimming teams travelled to Crystal Palace for the National Swimming Relay Finals and swam
very well. The final results were as follows:
Senior Girls‘ Freestyle team - 2m00.24s - finishing 13th in the country
Senior Girls‘ Medley team - 2m15.00s - finishing 11th in the country
Inter Girls‘ Freestyle team - 1m54.98s - finishing 11th in the country
Inter Girls‘ Medley team - 2m17.16s - finishing 14th in the country
An excellent set of results; definitely testament to the hard-work and dedication these girls show towards
training.
Page 31
PE DEPARTMENT NEWS—TRAMPOLINING
The trampolining squad did a fantastic job at the first round of the National competition. The U13
novice girls performed admirably with the B team of Ellie Hawkes, Mia Deville, Kate Walker and
Lucy Bree gaining valuable experience with the A team consisting of Jessica Sexton-Barnes (2nd
individual!), Millie Hodges, Yolana Welch and Alice Court coming second to qualify for the
Zonal Final. Fantastic results from Mark Roe (2nd U13 novice boy), Faith Everett (1st U13 elite girl)
and Olivia Watson (1st U15 elite girl) meant they were also successful in qualification. Well done to
all and many thanks to coach Paul Kitchen and parents for running the team.
Page 32
PE DEPARTMENT NEWS - CROSS COUNTRY
Our Cross Country teams travelled to the world-famous Harrow School for an invitation event. Competing
schools were: Harrow, Eton, Westminster, St. Edwards (Oxford), St Pauls, Brighton College, Abingdon,
Norwich and MCS. Every student put in an exceptional amount of effort to deliver their best performance
possible:
Junior Boys A - 2nd
Junior Boys B - 3rd
Inter Boys - 2nd
Senior Boys - 2nd
Open Girls A - 2nd
Open Girls B - 4th
Open Girls C - 6th
The course itself is very challenging, taking place on the school grounds over
hills, farmland, around the lakes and golf course before finishing in front of the
athletics track with Wembley stadium as the back drop. A mention should
definitely go to one Year 7 CCCS student, Josh Adolphe, who showed
remarkable determination when his shoe fell off and got stuck in the muddier
section of the course half-way through. Instead of giving up, he dug his shoe
out of the mud then carried it in his hand as he attacked the final stages of the
run and still managed to finish in 15th position! True 'Coopers Coborn' spirit
shown indeed! Following the race the students were treated to a well earned
hot tea before departing back to school. A fantastic afternoon, once again at the prestigious school, and we
look forward to returning for the South East Schools‘ fixture in March.
The Junior Boys and Girls teams competed in the Cross Country Cup National Finals at Southend High School
for Girls. Both teams had qualified for this event from thousands of school teams that enter and reached
the finals after finishing 2nd in the North Thames Regional round (best of Essex, London, Middlesex and
Hertfordshire). To get to this stage was an
incredible achievement and the day
involved the 24 best teams in the
country. Every student gave their all on
the day and put in so much effort for
CCCS. The race was incredibly close and
fast-paced with very little separating the
teams (especially in 10th - 18th place).
We were very proud of the students and
the effort they put in. The girls had a very
high finish and the boys did incredibly well
- especially as there were four Year 7s in
the team competing against students a
year older. Their team total time actually
placed them even higher (at 16th)
showing how close the race was. The
future looks very bright indeed for Cross
Country runners at Coopers Coborn.
Page 33
PE DEPARTMENT NEWS—ATHLETICS
Lee Valley Indoor Cup
Four Year 7 athletics teams attended the Indoor event held at Lee Valley (over 30 boys and 30 girls teams
enter every year). From the heats the top schools are then invited to the finals . All the Year 7 students
represented CCCS very well and put 100% effort into all their performances, even though some were
competing in them for the first ever time. Highlights as follows:
Year 7 Boys A team - 2nd in their match. Kieran Quartey won his 60m sprint in a time of 8.7s and the
4x200m relay team stormed home in 2m04s.
Year 7 Boys B team - 3rd in their match. Ebere Nnajiuba won both his events with a time of 10.7s in the 60m
hurdles and jumped 1.30m in High jump
Year 7 Girls A team - 1st in their match.
Millie Hodges recorded 1st places in the 60m
hurdles (11.1s) and high jump (1.25m).
Jessica Smith also showed her strength in shot
putt winning with a throw of 6.30m.
Year 7 Girls B team - 4th in their match.
Caitlan Saggers had an excellent 2nd place finish
in the 60m sprint (9.3s) and Eloise Dietz jumped a
new best of 1.20 in High Jump.
Great work by the Year 7 girls and boys who represented the school at the Havering Sportshall Athletics at
Albany School. Some very good performances and excellent effort by all students.
Well done to the Year 7 Boys A team who
finished 1st, the Year 7 Boys B team finished 3rd
and the Year 7 girls team finished 1st.
This means that both boys and girls teams are
through to the East London finals at the Copper
Box next year. It should be a great experience.
Page 34
THE VIEW FROM THE SIXTH FORM
We started the year with a fantastic PSHE day at Stubbers, focusing on building new friendships, working
together in teams and facing both physical and mental challenges. Our second PSHE day gave real insight
into the work of Havering Police Force with a Question Time session and ARC Drama Production Company
depicting scenarios of Cyber Bullying, Sexting and the Night Time Economy. All workshops were extremely
thought provoking and informative.
It is fair to say that the honeymoon period is over, the hard work has begun and the year group have risen to
the challenges of AS level study. As we look forward to Christmas and a well-deserved rest, I would like to
take this opportunity to say ‗Well Done Year 12‘ for a great start to Coopers‘ Sixth Form and ‗Thank-you‘ for
making my first term at Coopers, as your Head of Year, challenging but always enjoyable!
Mrs Wilkes
Stubbers – PSHE Day
Stubbers activity day was the first PSHE day for all Year 12 and was based around teamwork and year group
integration. This was the first time that a PSHE day for Year 12 was organised with an idea like this and it
was a fantastic idea! I can say safely say that the majority of Year 12 students thoroughly enjoyed it and I
felt like it got over the first awkward barrier between the internals and externals and enabled all of us to work
in a team effectively. We were divided into groups with about eight students each and took part in three
activities. My group took part in Team Building, Fencing and the High Ropes. Other activities offered to the
other groups were Tunnelling, Sailing, Kayaking, Abseiling and many more thrilling activities. The activities
were undertaken by qualified Stubbers‘ instructors and they personally loved us! We finished around three
o‘clock, with muddy clothes, aching bodies, but learnt how working as a team is more effective than working
individually. This day integrated the students very well and showed
the community what Coopers‘ Sixth Form had to offer. I personally
enjoyed the day, and on behalf of the Year 12s, would like to say
thank you to the Sixth Form Pastoral team. Some of the
friendships we made on that day and skills we learnt are still going
strong!
Ryan Lee : 12.8
Page 35
PSHE Day – Police, Crime & Criminality
On 6th November, our School had the honour of having the Metropolitan Police come in to discuss their work
and the Arc Theatre group to perform drama pieces based on sexting, responsible usage of social
networking, night economy etc. At the start of the day, all Year 12 students gathered in the main assembly
hall to take part in a Q&A panel with members of the Police Department, from Detective Inspectors to
Leaders of Watch teams. We asked them questions concerning their work and how they operate, especially
after changes to the system and cases such as the murder of Stephen Lawrence.
Then, the Arc Theatre group came in and talked about the issue of sexting and cyber bullying and their links
to the law. Not only was a story acted – that of a student who ended up on the Sexual Offenders list after an
explicit picture got out of hand – but there had been statistics given on technology, cyber bullying and access
to pornographic material.
Another great drama piece had been performed, this time concerning what can be unacceptable to post on
Facebook. In this case, pupils were split into three groups and we were introduced to three Sixth Form
students and an argument they are having. One of them posts a possibly racist post on Facebook, which
angers his ex-girlfriend, while her new boyfriend isn‘t entirely bothered. The groups all had to help the three
people in winning the argument by offering advice as the character‘s ‗brain‘.
Finally, all forms went back to their form rooms to have one Police Officer each in order to talk about what
they do, their daily routines and any bizarre and interesting stories that they have to share. This was
interesting because they also said what we could do if we ever decide to enter law enforcement as a career.
Overall, all of the pupils who took part had a great time and not only took part in entertaining activities, but
also learned important lessons that they can not only use later on in life as they grow older, but also in their
current day-to-day life.
Alta Hatcher 12.2
Page 36
Update from Year 13
The Year 13s have been very busy this term making significant
steps towards paving their way for their life after Coopers. To date
we have sent off over 170 UCAS applications and have had a
number of students make positive progress in their workplace
interviews within firms such as KPMG and Baker Tilly.
Mrs King is continuing to provide exciting opportunities for the students to engage in, meeting corporate firms
that offer internships and training opportunities for our post-18 students. Please encourage the year 13s to
take advantage of the priceless resource that is Mrs King! Mrs Read‘s tireless work with our Oxford and
Cambridge applicants has also paid off with a number of our Oxbridge students receiving their interview dates
already. We will not be certain of the final data for the University offers that the cohort have achieved until
February 2014 but the news is very positive so far, with a number of students having received invitations for
interview from 100% of their University choices or have received 100% of their offers already. We are very
proud of the applications that have been sent. Some of our students certainly are incredible in their
achievements up to this point in their lives, having sourced volunteering opportunities and having undertaken
extra-curricular qualifications that really do make them stand out from the crowd!
Buddying
The Buddying programme has been very successful in its first term, establishing bridges between the Year
13s and the new Year 12 cohort. It has given them an opportunity to pass on their hints and tips on how to
survive their AS Levels and best steps to undertake in Year 12 to prepare for the choices that they will face in
Year 13.
The programme will continue next term, focusing on work placements and experience that the Year 12s
should be considering undertaking to support their post 18 choices.
Cultural Diversity was an evening of celebration within the year group and a chance to see the multicultural
Year 13 talent celebrated by family, friends and staff.
Adesuwa, Daniel, Jed and Tumi organised and hosted the event, feeding and entertaining over 300 guests in
the Theatre in November. Personal highlights of the evening were Charisma Nash‘s Spoken Word
performance, Tunbi‘s Film, the Street Dance performed by Tin, Tobi, Kumi and Regina, a medley performed
by Ife and ‗September‘ performed by the choir.
Next term the Year 13s are focusing on gaining the
grades to support their next step in either the
workplace or academia. After such a busy term they
definitely deserve their Christmas break and an
enjoyable New Year.
Page 37
Cultural Diversity Show
For this year‘s event we really wanted to show our peers the impact of
culture. In a school where students from a BME background are in the
minority, many are still unaware of how ethnic backgrounds can really
influence people‘s lives from the clothes they wear to the food they eat.
With 6 weeks to prepare, everyone put their heads down and got to work.
Adesuwa
Omoregbee,
Daniel
Okeowo,
Jed
Rimell
and
Adetumininu Adeboye were assigned by Mr Bell as the group leaders to
organise us and polish us when we were slacking – they took their jobs
very seriously! At least one of them would be watching rehearsals giving
constructive criticism where needed. We met and rehearsed constantly
until each of us could perform our piece in our sleep. Finally the big day of
the performance came. Even though we had several dress rehearsals prior to the day, the group leaders had us in the theatre from 1:15 till the
time of the show running through everything to make sure the show ran
smoothly. We were all so nervous, and after saying a prayer as our
audience arrived in to the theatre …. the show began.
Every act gave it their all, even though during some there were a few
glitches with the equipment used, all of us participating thoroughly
enjoyed the show. The variety of acts ranged from dancing to a fashion
show – we wanted to show our audience as many different aspects of
culture as we could.
During the interval food from different cultures was even served! Living in the society we do today we have to
make sure that although we are all equal – each individual has their difference— these differences are what
make them unique. For some people these unique differences are defined by their culture. We used cultural
diversity as a platform to showcase this; we hope it did just that.
Prior to the night of the show we had only sold 165 tickets. By the end of the night over 300 tickets were sold
altogether and over £550 made!
We wanted to donate this money to good causes, so of course some of the money was donated to the
school‘s Africa expedition. We also donated some money to a charity based in the Philippines to help with the
DEC appeal following the typhoon there the previous week and lastly we donated the rest of the money to the
Watoto Children‘s Choir, a Ugandan children‘s choir who have sung all over the world – even to the Queen.
We wanted this event to be energetic, enjoyable and informative, and I hope for all the people watching it
was just that!
If you want to see a clip from the event, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=793XlZFGonU
Lois Geraldo, Year 12
Page 38
CAREERS DEPARTMENT NEWS
Once again, it was pleasing to see the overwhelming majority of our students progress onto University courses at some of the very best institutions in the country. The charts below highlight the destinations and most
popular degree subject choices. We also saw an increase in the number of students leaving from school and
going into the ‗world of work‘. Many of those students taking up highly sought after positions in global
companies such as JLT, BDO, and Ernst and Young.
To ensure that the students are informed of the opportunities available to them, a number of talks and
events have again taken place over the last term. Medicine is always a popular career path and as you may
be aware a very competitive degree course to get onto at University. Nithesh Jayakumar, a past student, has
been working closely with students in Year 13 that have applied for medicine; all students have had mock
panel interviews at Bart‘s. His time and dedication to all of our current students is very much
appreciated.
Credit Suisse kindly invited the school to two events one for Year 10 and one for Year 12 girls. The events
were aimed at girls interested in a career working in the financial services industry. The bank is involved in a
project called ‗Modern Muse‘. The purpose is to engage the next generation of female business leaders and
entrepreneurs. The girls were inspired by a panel of Credit Suisse female employees who talked about their
backgrounds and their career paths. They also learnt about what it was like to work in a global investment
bank. The events proved to be a great success and hopefully would have given the students a better insight
into the roles available in banking.
Page 39
CAREERS DEPARTMENT NEWS
The annual Careers‘ Convention was very well attended again this year. We were lucky to have the support of
a great many local and City businesses, as well as friends of the school who gave up their evening to
represent their professions. Colleges of Further and Higher Education and Universities were also exhibiting
and offered lots of useful advice. The exhibitors were very impressed with how the students conducted
themselves. If you would like to help at the next event by talking to students about particular career paths,
please contact me at the school.
With the increase in tuition fees we are seeing a greater number of students leaving from school going into
the ‗world of work‘. To ensure that the students are prepared for the challenges of applying for jobs in the
current job market, a mock assessment programme was put together
for those students identified as wanting to go out into the world of work.
The ‗Assessment Afternoon‘ was led by Baker Tilly and Adecco. The
session included on-line testing, a mini group task and finally feedback
from both employers.
Pathways to Law is currently run through a network of universities
across the UK, with support from over 30 law firms, including Allen and
Overy, Clifford Chance, DLA Piper, Eversheds, Hogan Lovells, Linklaters
and Mayer Brown. Six Year 12 students secured themselves a place on
the two year programme. The scheme delivers a full and varied
programme of lectures, seminars, advice and guidance sessions, skills
development workshops and interaction with undergraduate students and
professionals through e-mentoring and a legal work placement. This is a
great opportunity for the students and I am sure they will benefit from it.
As mentioned previously in our summer newsletter, work experience for Year
10 and 11 took place at the end of the summer term. The Year 10 students
above worked for Mizuho Bank and we were fortunate to have the
placements arranged by one of the parents, Mr Maloney. If you are able to
offer work shadowing placements or would be interested in employing Coopers‘ students, don‘t hesitate to
get in contact with me at the school. We have a detailed alumni and Old Boys network, as well as our links
with the Coopers‘ Company. We would be delighted to widen our net further, to the benefit of our students.
Mrs Samantha King
Head of Careers
Page 40
CHARITY UPDATE
Here at the school we take on many fundraising activities for school events, trips and worthy causes. As a
school we have certain charities that we fundraise for throughout the year and the students have recently
voted for this year‘s charities so throughout the coming year we will have various events raising money for
some very worthy causes.
We will be raising money for:Saint Francis Hospice is a centre of excellence in the care of those
with life limiting illnesses. The team of specialist consultants, doctors,
nurses and health care assistants provide practical and emotional
support for adults of all ages and give specialist bereavement support
to family members from as young as 20 months.
The teams provide care in the home, at the hospice or the centre
together with a full range of therapies and treatments. The care
extends beyond physical treatment of symptoms to emotional,
psychological and social needs of patients and their families.
Make-A-Wish Foundation UK is a charity with a single purpose, they
grant magical wishes to children and young people aged 3-17 fighting
life-threatening conditions. Over the last 26 years Make-A-Wish has
granted more than 8,000 magical wishes. Over 20,000 children in
the UK are living with a life-threatening condition.
This year they will be aiming to provide over 1,000 wishes, and need
to raise £7 million to achieve this.
Every child has the right to grow up in a family and to be cared for and
protected from harm or abuse. Hope & Homes work to close the
institutions and re-unite children with their birth families, placing them
with foster or adoptive families or moving them into small family
homes.
Hope & Homes for Children work in nine countries across Central and
Eastern Europe and Africa. They transform out-dated childcare
systems into ones based on family care. Imagine not having the
sense of belonging, or the emotional support that being part of a
family provides. Hope & Homes for Children believe that, above all
else, children need a loving family and a place to call home.
Africa Expedition
Charity Projects
Page 41
We are looking to add an additional building to Twabuka Community
School (Livingston, Zambia), which previous school fundraising has
helped to build, and also introduce solar cell technology.
CHARITY UPDATE
Children in Need Bake Sale
Students from Years 7, 8 and 9 baked cakes for Children in Need and with lots of help from the students
these were sold during break throughout the school and £316.00 was raised.
The winners were Evie Thomas (Year 7), Issy Montefusco (Year 8) and Phoebe Crane (Year 9).
The Student Christmas raffle with all the proceeds going to our chosen charities will be drawn on Thursday
19th December 2013.
We also have a non-uniform half day on the last day of term (Friday 20th December 2013) where the students
can come in non-uniform for a contribution of £2.00.
Next year we hope to hold lots more events including sponsors, evening events,
bake sales, etc. So far we have the following planned:
The
Distinctive
Voice of
RICHARD
JENSEN
Saturday 25th January 2014
Saturday 25th January 2014
7.30pm-1.00am
Stock Brook Country Club
All Inclusive New Year Dinner Dance
March 2014 An Evening of Big Band & Swing with singer,
Mr Richard Jensen at Clearview Racquet Club, Brentwood
A
tribute
to the
sound
of Big
Band
&
Swing
Tel: 07985 366635
www.richardjensensings.com
Page 42
Date TBC
Wine Tasting Evening, Venue to be confirmed.
Thank you for all your backing so far. We do appreciate how many events and
causes you all support throughout the year.
CHARITY UPDATE
Christmas Boxes
Once again, the students in Years 7 and 8 put together boxes for the elderly of Tower Hamlets. The
boxes contain a range of foodstuffs and each student writes a letter to be contained within the box.
The boxes are decorated and distributed directly from the school.
Smile International Shoebox Appeal
A very big thank you to everybody who contributed to our amazing, record-breaking 178 shoeboxes
filled with goodies which are on their way to help those in need in Kosovo.
Page 43
CHILDREN IN NEED
The Rickshaw Challenge for BBC Children in Need came back for a third
successful year. It was the biggest and most challenging ever because,
for the first time, riders visited all four UK nations,
pedalling around the clock to cover 700 miles raising money for
disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.
Team Rickshaw was made up of five young people, each supported by
projects funded by BBC Children in Need, who rode with partners
including The One Show‘s Alex Jones. Four of the riders were partnered
with a parent. As those who have benefited from the charity‘s work first
hand, the young riders undertook the challenge to raise as much money
as possible to help other young people across the country.
The journey began on Friday 8 November in Northern Ireland. They then
crossed the Irish Sea into Scotland, before pedalling down the west of
England and into Wales. Finally the team headed back into England to a
magnificent finish at BBC Elstree.
Eleanor Pedrick (12.8) and her father took part in Team Rickshaw and we had the following message from
Mr Pedrick after the event.
―Now that the dust has settled and unfortunately Eleanor & I have returned to our ‗day jobs‘ (of sorts when not
thinking of Rickshaws), we can now take on-board and understand the uniqueness of the experience we were
a part of.
Quite simply it was awesome. I am proud, in particular, of what Eleanor achieved and also to have been part
of a team of wonderful people whom I hope will remain friends for a long time. Those of you from School who
watched, I hope you found our experience intriguing and possibly moving.
Thank you to everyone who supported us during the challenge with donations, your own initiatives for raising
money and those who supported us with messages of encouragement, it was immense and meant so much
to us. I wish to extend particular thanks to you for the direct support and encouragement you provided in the
lead up to the Challenge and the understanding you conveyed when we were discussing Eleanor‘s opportunity
and how School work would be fine.
I think the Challenge has helped Eleanor immensely in
developing her strong character even further and it has opened
potential future opportunities to move into work experience
within the BCC. She certainly now has many new friends and
referees within the organisation when she needs them!!
This has been an incredible experience for Eleanor & I and Team
Rickshaw can be proud of everything we achieved together
including the £1.6M+ we have raised to date for Children in Need‖.
Page 44
CHARITY UPDATE—HOPE & HOMES
Background
As a school we have supported Hope & Homes for many years and raised lots of funds for
the charity. Recently, Emily Prince, Community Fundraiser at Hope & Homes visited
Moldova and below is her report.
Moldova, a former Soviet Republic, is the poorest country in
Europe. Many families struggle to feed, clothe and educate their children. Many
of these turn to the poorly run state institutions. Some, in desperation, leave
their children while seeking work overseas. Tragically, one child under 7 is
placed in an institution every day.
Of the 7,000 children in Moldovan orphanages, just 2% are orphans. Poverty
and lack of support are keeping the other 98% apart from their families (source:
UNICEF and Moldova Government report).
Since 2001, Hope & Homes for Children has been working in partnership with the Government and local
NGOs to reform the country‘s childcare system from institutional to family-based services.
Education for all
The majority of Moldova‘s 55 orphanages are state facilities for children with special educational needs.
These children are removed from their schools, families and communities, labelled uneducable and isolated
in ill-equipped institutions. Many of these children have only very mild learning difficulties or behavioural
problems. Most leave worse than they arrived; denied a family, with
no qualifications, unable to find a job and succeed in life.
Since 2010, we have been helping implement the Government‘s
Inclusive Education Programme, which requires schools to provide
education for all children, including those with learning difficulties.
Together with the Psycho-Pedagogical Assistance Service, we are
setting up essential services, such as developing special resource
centres in schools, and recruiting and training support teachers.
A school in Tarigrad, Northern Moldova
Preventing family breakdown
We also prevent children being separated from their families, like
5-year-old Angeles and her baby brother Ion (15 months), who I met at
home with their mother, pictured right.
We identify children at risk of institutionalisation and work to ensure
they are able to stay in a loving environment. Our social assistants
support vulnerable families to keep their children at home and in their
local schools. This includes help accessing healthcare, educational
support, and with essential home improvements and finding
employment.
―My only dream is that my children are
healthy and we bring each other joy.‖
Page 45
CHARITY UPDATE
Cold and bleak, the institution is eerily
empty, waiting to be put to better use.
Tarigrad Institution closure
This is the second specialised institution that we have closed in 2
years. All 57 children who were living in Tarigrad are now back in
families where they belong. As with all institution closures, we helped
the children to understand the process and prepared them for their
move from Tarigrad. We built their confidence through counselling
and extra tutoring so that they felt able to return and adapt to a
mainstream school. Our team continues to work closely with families
and schools to ensure they have
the skills and means to care for
their children.
Alternative Family Care
Most children, like the Dosca siblings are reintegrated back with their
biological families. Where this is not possible, we are developing
solutions including foster care, adoption and small family homes,
where childcare professionals provide quality, live-in, one-to-one care in
a family environment.
Fedor (4) and Yuliana (2), spent 18 months in an institution before being
placed in a foster family (pictured right), where they lived for 5 months.
Yuliana did not walk or talk when she arrived at the foster family. When
I visited, she ran, laughed and sang traditional songs with Fedor,
transformed in a loving home. They told me how happy they were in the
foster home. Their smiles grew even bigger when talking about their
upcoming reunion with their parents, whom we helped build a stable
home for their children.
Happy in their foster home, but excited
about living with their parents again.
Children Under 3
Lack of family care is particularly damaging to this age group, who are most likely to suffer ill health, and
physical, mental and emotional under-development. To address this, we are working to close 2 baby
institutions in Moldova.I visited the Chisinau Institution for Babies. On arrival, the children were having their
daily time outdoors – a robotic walk around the institution. They started shouting ―guests‖ eagerly in
Romanian; a distressing sign that visitors are the adults they receive the
most attention from. Inside, the disabled children remained; lying on their
backs in the cots and gazing at a white ceiling, rocking or hitting
themselves – their only source of stimulation.
Images of the brains of 2 children
aged 3; one has been loved and
cared for by his parents, the other
neglected. (Source: Perry, BD, 2002)
That said, our work is gathering pace. We are finding families for the 40
remaining children and working to create a small family home for up to
12 children with more severe disabilities. We are preventing children
entering the institution through successful support services in the same
building; a Mother and Baby Unit, day care centre for children with
disabilities and 2 nurseries.
Our team have now started work in Balti Institution for Babies, where
78 children aged 0-9 are warehoused. We look forward to updating you
about our progress and the children we help.
Thank you for taking the time to read about my visit to our work in Moldova and thank you for your support.
Page 46
SUSTAINABILITY AT COOPERS
Green Day
The autumn term has already been very eventful for all staff and students involved in the sustainability
themed activities and clubs. We kick started the year with a Green Day on the 23 rd September that was run
by the 6th Form Eco-Team. The aim of the day was to increase awareness of the issues surrounding
sustainability and how, as a community, we can be more sustainable. The Eco-team held Assemblies the
week before the Green Day for all ages, introducing the idea of the Green Day and raising their profile as the
Eco-Team across the school. On the day, both students and staff were encouraged to get involved as much as
possible. House points were awarded for those pupils walking or cycling into school. Discussions took place
during form time sharing ideas of how to be ‗green‘ and the most creative won house points. Staff were
encouraged to give their lessons a green-theme where possible and to limit their use of electrical appliances
during the day. The Eco-Team also sold ―Think Green‖ wrist bands to raise money for our school Wildlife
Garden, which pupils were able to visit during lunchtime.
Wildlife Garden Day
On Friday 18th October, we held the first Wildlife Garden Day of this academic year. Around 30 students were
selected from the sustainability themed clubs (Chicken Keepers, Bee Keeping, Travel Plan, Gardening Club
and the Eco-Committee) to take part in this day and, as always, did a fantastic job. Thank you also to
Mrs Rogers who came in as a parent helper and worked tirelessly with the students, maintaining the already
established flower beds and pathways and creating new habitats. The kitchen garden is in the initial stages of
development, thanks to the dedication of Christine Matthew, and it is hoped that soon the school canteen will
be able to sell a few products grown by the students and staff. Another exciting addition to the Wildlife
Garden is our fantastic homemade Owl Box which has been superbly crafted by Mr Levitt in D.T. This will be
put up in the next few weeks and will have a wireless camera attached to the inside which, we hope, will
capture images of our first school owlets! This has all been possible due to the kind donation from the
Parents‘ Association. We have two more days planned in the Wildlife Garden, Friday 28 th March and Friday
27th June. If you would like to come along and help out, please get in touch ([email protected]).
Page 47
SUSTAINABILITY AT COOPERS
Chicken Keepers Club
Our chickens, Prisca and Betty, returned from their summer holiday vacation at Dr Sprunt‘s farm. However,
sadly, they were the victim of Mr Fox within their first few weeks back. This was an extremely sad time for us
all. However, the students showed great maturity and empathy. It was decided that we would replace them
over the October half term as the Chicken Keepers‘ Club has become a popular addition to the
extra-curricular clubs list. Tina Turner, Dotty and Biscuit (named again by the students) are a welcome
addition to the Coopers‘ family and the number of Chicken Keepers has risen. The Chicken Keepers range
from Year 7 – Year 13 and meet during lunchtime to feed and care for them, which they do with enthusiasm
and kindness in rain or shine! A new larger (and safer) enclosure is currently being built and will be an
exciting addition to the school. Thank you to the Parents‘ Association for their kind donation that allowed this
to happen and to Mick, the designer and creator of their new home.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
The Eco-Committee meet every half term to discuss the issues of sustainability across the school, as well as
share our success stories. The Eco-Committee consists of students from our sustainability themed clubs and
individuals, staff and students who are interested in helping us achieve our aims of making the school more
sustainable. This year our main focus is to significantly reduce the amount of waste that the school produces.
This will be through campaigns, assemblies and strategies to encourage the 3 Rs: ―Reduce, Reuse, Recycle‖.
We have already introduced new green bags in the canteen and in some key areas around the school. These
are for tin cans and plastic bottles, to supplement the already established blue bins for paper and there are
many more exciting plans that will implemented by the Eco-Committee as the year progresses.
Page 48
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL AWARDS : SCHOOL OF THE YEAR
On Thursday 24th October 2013, members of the School Travel Plan Committee Samuel Rogers
Year 9, Frankie Mills Year 8 and myself joined Mr Hanford in attending the STARS (Sustainable
Travel: Active, Responsible, Safe) awards at City Hall, London, a ceremony hosted by Transport for
London (TfL) celebrating schools‘ success in promoting sustainable and safer travel. It is an annual
event at City Hall that brings together the highest performing schools across London.
The best schools from across London were invited to showcase their achievements in travel planning delivery and have been nominated for School Travel Champion awards and School of Excellence awards (in key areas such as cycling, walking, road safety). In addition, the best primary and
secondary school in each of four regions across London were presented with awards for ‗School of
the Region‘, indicating they have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to active, safer and
responsible school travel. Coopers formed part of the ‗East region‘, which consisted of schools from
Havering, Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge, Newham, Waltham Forest, Hackney & Tower Hamlets.
After a fun workshop where we shared our ideas with the other 21 schools that had been invited
from across London. We were received the "School of the Region" award, beating hundreds of other
schools across the East of London. Mr Hanford himself also received an award, "School Travel
Champion of the Year" for his great work in leading our successful projects.
Some of our projects from last year, which helped us to win our award, are still running. These
include: house points for cycling; free breakfasts after multiple days cycling to school; visiting local
primary schools speaking to them about active travel; members of the School Travel Committee and
YTA (Youth Travel Ambassadors) giving assembles to our lower school students promoting
sustainable school travel; and going into forms speaking directly to target groups. Our weekly bike
club is also continuing to grow and we now offer cycling as part of the 6 th form enrichment
programme.
To find out more, speak to Mr Hanford or a Committee member within school.
Harry Rushworth, Year 12
Page 49
BIKEABILITY
Bikeability participation continues to increase. Since 2009, we have had over 400 students take
part in the cycle training held at school and the surrounding roads, which is run during the school day
and is available free for every student of our school. You don‘t even need to own your own bike. The
school has a selection of BMXs and mountain bikes that students can use and we even supply cycle
helmets for them to wear.
We offer level 1, 2 & 3 Bikeability training, so you could be a complete novice or want to feel more
confident and learn new skills cycling on the roads.
Even if students choose not to cycle to school, most children own a bike and will cycle at least a few
times a year, so it‘s important that they have the knowledge and understanding of how to ride a bike
safely.
If students are interested in taking part in Bikeability training, please either come and see
Mr Hanford in his office located on the first floor of the main block, opposite the theatre or e-mail
him: [email protected]
Below are students collecting their certificates at one of our lower school assemblies and a group
taking part in their level 3 training.
Page 50
YOUTH TRAVEL AMBASSADORS
The Youth Travel Ambassadors (YTAs)
scheme is a youth led education project
developed by Transport for London (TfL)
and our school was asked to participate
in this new scheme.
We put a team together consisting of
several members of our School Travel
Plan Committee from across the school
and got to work creating a project that
would increase sustainable, safe
transport to and from school.
Our project was to get more people cycling to school than there were already. We would mainly target girls in
Years 7 and 8 as they were the group that cycled the least.
We did several things to get more girls to cycle to school. We held Assemblies for the Lower School and went
into forms explaining the benefits of cycling: happiness,
healthiness and environmental friendliness. We even gave
Assemblies to local primary schools in order to get prospective
students for our school to think about how they travel to school
on a daily basis and encourage them to use sustainable modes
of transport. Several posters were made by our YTAs in order to
promote the competitions we were holding, as well as our
‗Bring your bike to school day‘ which was extremely successful
with more students cycling in than ever before. We even had
some girls cycle in for the first time, who have carried on doing
so up until now. They‘ve even joined the YTA. For people who
cycle into school regularly, we offer the bikers‘ breakfast. This
enables people not only to get free food, but to stay fit and
healthy in the process. Another incentive offered to those who
cycled regularly was the opportunity to get house points.
After our scheme was put into motion, we went to the London
Transport Museum to share our findings with all the other YTAs
across London. Before we started our scheme, only one girl
cycled to school. We now have 8 girls regularly cycling. Boys‘
participation has also risen from 32 before the YTA scheme to
44, this is an overall increase of 20 students since April 2013.
Whilst at the London Transport Museum, we received the
Sustainability Award for our YTA programme.
Our award success continued with a ‗Diana‘ Award for Active Campaigner for running campaigns in schools
and local communities.
TfL were so impressed with our scheme that they invited our group to give a presentation on our YTA project
and how other groups can learn from our success at the prestigious ‗Youth Participation Day‘ held at the
London Transport Museum on 13th November.
We hope to continue our great work in the future where we will be focusing on bus travel this year.
Page 51
ENRICHMENT
This academic year has seen the continuation of the 6th Form Enrichment Programme. Even more
opportunities and activities have been added this year to make it the most exciting offering yet!
Students receive a booklet at the start of the year detailing the many options they can choose from
and then complete a form communicating their preferences. This is then used throughout the year
to allocate students into four of their choices across the session blocks (named after our Houses
Coborn, Gibson, Guild and Ratcliffe). A flavour of the activities are listed below:
Fishing - This is run by Mr Boyton and involves a theory
session at the start, to learn the skills of competent fishing,
along with five practical sessions using our very own school
pond. This option has proved extremely popular and the
students have been enthusiastically casting their rods and
catching several fish each week!
Zumba and Boot Camp - We now have our own Zumba instructor,
Amy, who attends the school each Monday to run these excellent
sessions. In addition, personal trainer Kerry Hodges is in every Monday and Wednesday to put the 6th Formers through their paces in
Boot Camp and increase their overall fitness levels! Another two
exciting additions to the Sixth Form programme this year.
Mrs Barrett even joins along in Zumba most weeks!
Cycling—Mr Hanford has now brought his award-winning cycling
initiative to the 6th
Form. The group set
out each week for a
variety of refreshing cycling routes around Upminster
and Thames Chase.
Medicine—We are very grateful to have former student
Nithish Jayakumar back into school to lead some challenging
Medicine sessions for some of our most able students.
Nithish, a current medical student at Barts in London, delivers
topics each week ranging from information on organ systems,
diseases and culminating with a visit to Barts to practise basic
surgery skills.
This is just a flavour of the many enrichment activities offered with the full list also including:
Aerobics, Gardening, Cooking for University, Film Soc, Badminton, Table Tennis, Fitness, Volleyball,
Mixed Netball, Boot Camp, Mentoring, Volunteering, General Studies and Critical Thinking.
It certainly is an exciting time to be a Sixth Former at CCCS!
Page 52
HOUSE SYSTEM UPDATE
The new House system continues to go from strength to strength with the addition of the E-praise
website this year. Students are now able to claim house points, from codes on stickers, by inputting
them into the website. As well as this, all staff can award house points directly to the students via
the site. For the month of November over 18,000 house points were awarded!! This shows the
popularity of the system and how hard the students are working to earn those points. When
students reach certain milestones, certificates are awarded and announced in Assembly. These are
for the following amounts:
Bronze = 25 House Points
Silver = 50 House Points
Gold = 75 House Points
Platinum = 100 House Points
Super Platinum = 150 House Points
Diamond = 200 House Points!
We will be introducing parental log-ins to the site shortly and a letter will follow explaining this.
HOUSE CRESTS
In the summer term we launched a House Crest Competition whereby the students submitted entries
for a new crest to represent their house. We had a large number of entries and the final designs
were chosen by the school House Captains. The hand-drawings have just recently been converted to
computer images and can be found below:
Unfortunately, no entry for Gibson
Page 53
HOUSE CRESTS
Coborn Crest
This is red to signify the colour of the House and contains many
important elements of the school which make it unique. Sport, music,
drama and science are all well represented.
In addition, it
contains the three stars and horn which can all be found on the crest
for the Prisca Coborn School.
Gibson Crest
This crest contains the image of three cranes. These can be found
on the Nicholas Gibson plaque (founder of the Coopers‘ Company
School in Ratcliffe) in St. Dunstan‘s Church in Stepney where he is
buried. The shield is also green to represent the House colour.
Guild Crest
The crest is prominently blue, as the House colour, and contains
several references to the art of cask making which the ‗guild‘ of the
Worshipful Company of Coopers was responsible for. These include
the two barrels either side of the crest, as well as the golden rings on
the badge itself. Inspiration for the design has also been taken from
the badge of the old boys‘ school.
Ratcliffe Crest
The final crest is clearly yellow to show the House colour. The
anchors are a reference to the town of Ratcliffe, where the old
boys‘ school was originally located, which was a site of
shipbuilding for many years. The rats add a humorous touch
for the nickname for the house and finally the Latin inscription
of ‗Custodit Eam Flavum‘ means ‗Keep it Yellow‘!
Page 54
COOPERS PARENTS‘ ASSOCIATION NEWS
CHRISTMAS DRAW
The winner‘s of this year‘s Christmas Draw were:
1st prize
2nd prize
3rd prize:
4th prize
:
:
:
:
S McGrath
M Archard
H Payne
V Drake
Thank you for your continued support.
COME AND BE PART OF THE COOPERS COBORN PARENTS‘ ASSOCIATION !
When our children are in secondary school, it becomes difficult to become involved in school life
and meet other parents in the same way that we may have done at the primary school gates. One
way to do that is to become part of the Coopers Coborn Parents' Association! The PA is a friendly
group of parents that meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 8pm (usually in the Dining Hall)
to put on fundraising events that raise money to provide things such as a minibus, lighting
equipment in the theatre, podcasting equipment etc. that enhance the teaching and learning of all
the students. If you've not been to a meeting before you're very welcome to attend! No need for
an invitation, just turn up on the night. Ideas for fundraising events are always needed. In these
days of tighter budgets, the PA performs an important role in providing equipment that benefits all
of our students. The more people that get involved, the more your daughters and sons will gain.
PA SUPERMARKET VOUCHERS SCHEME
Did you know that you can make money for the school just by shopping?
Sainsbury‘s, Tesco and Marks & Spencer all allow us to make money through their voucher
schemes.
Contact [email protected] for more information on how you can support the PA just by
shopping.
Page 55
2014-2015
(All dates are inclusive)
First Day of Term
Y7 & External Y12 only
Whole School Returns
AUTUMN TERM 2014
Half Term
Last Day of Term
CHRISTMAS BREAK
Half Term
Last Day of Term
EASTER BREAK
Bank Holiday
Half Term
Last Day of Term
CPD dates
i.e. School Closures
Monday 27 October to Friday 31 October 2014
Friday 19 December 2014
Monday 5 January 2015
Monday 16 February – Friday 20 February 2015
Friday 27 March 2015
Monday 30 March - Friday 10 April 2015
First Day of Term
SUMMER TERM 2015
Friday 5 September 2014
Monday 22 December 2014 – Friday 2 January 2015
First Day of Term
SPRING TERM 2015
Thursday 4 September 2014
Monday 13 April 2015
Monday 4 May 2015
Monday 25 May – Friday 29 May 2015
Friday 17th July 2015
tbc
If you would like to advertise in future Newsletters, or would like more information
on this, please contact Liz Evans at [email protected] or on 01708 251847.
May we take this opportunity to wish you all a very
Happy Christmas and a Healthy & Prosperous
New Year
Newsletter Compiled by Mrs J Orton—December 2013

The Coopers` Company and Coborn School Autumn

Transcription

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