13 October 2023
13 October 2023
Dear Parents
We have reached the end of an exceptionally busy first half-term and it has been a brilliant start to the academic year. We have loved watching your children’s progress in so many areas, as they have embraced school life and got to grips with new routines associated with their new year groups. We hope you have enjoyed hearing about what they have been up to and gained a glimpse of school life through the coffee mornings, newsletter, pictures and Instagram or Facebook!
Open Morning, Senior Experience Day and Sixth Form Taster Day
Thank you to all our Senior pupils who helped with tours last Saturday for Open Day. Quite simply, your children were phenomenal! We are so proud of the way they interacted with our visiting families, greeting them with warmth and chatting to them throughout the tour to give their perspective on school life. We lost count of the number of comments we received about how eloquent, friendly and polite the tour guides were and we are all incredibly grateful for the time and energy they invested in Open Morning.
On Tuesday, 6M had their Senior Experience Day. Joined by external pupils, they enthusiastically got stuck into an exciting range of activities across the Senior School curriculum, championed by our Senior teaching team. Parkour and Drama seemed to be a particular hit, and it was lovely to meet so many parents at the tea at the end of the day!
Yesterday, our Year 11 pupils became Sixth Formers for the day for the Sixth Form Taster Day. We have been delighted by the external demand for Year 12 places for September 2024 and were joined by a significant number of prospective pupils. Having experienced up to four A level sessions in the morning and suitably restored by lunch, our Year 12 2024 cohort then had an afternoon of enrichment activities, selecting from Debating, Cooking for University, Fitness, Design and Self-Defence. We hope this taste of the future at Cranford has further inspired our Year 11s and look forward to sharing this journey into Year 12 with you.
A week in the life of Reception!
We have been super impressed with our youngest pupils and how well they have adapted to being at school. This week, the children have been busy finishing their ‘long-ago topic’ with a look at traditional games. They have enjoyed finding out which games were popular years ago and have also put their Maths skills to the test having fun with snakes and ladders. The Reception teaching team have had some fabulous conversations with your children about what they would like to be when they grow up and we are pleased to report some serious ambition permeating from our Reception pupils, with answers ranging from mermaids to doctors, firefighters and police officers!
This morning we welcomed the Reception parents into the classroom for the first stay and play session of the year and the pupils were delighted to be able to show parents what they have been doing in school this half-term.
Junior Discovery Week and Junior Discovery Day – Saturday 4 November
Immediately after half-term, our Junior pupils will immerse themselves into Junior Discovery Week. We are excited to have lots of wonderful teaching and learning lined up for your children, all connected to the theme of Sport. Juniors may come into school all week from the 30 October to the 3 November in their PE kit. We then look forward to seeing many of you at our Junior Discovery Day on Saturday 4 November. Please don’t forget to bring family and friends though pre-booking is essential for all – please click here to register.
Have a lovely half-term break and we look forward to seeing you back and rested on 30 October for another exciting half-term!
Kind regards
Dr James Raymond
Headmaster