14 March 2025
Dear Parents
The sheer variety of activity across the school in a normal week is hard to capture in a short newsletter. However, as I look back on the week, I am perhaps most struck by the common themes that bind our community together across Cranford; friendship, generosity of spirit, camaraderie and a sense fun have been on strong display throughout school. Over the last five days pupils have thrown themselves into Languages week with enthusiasm and curiosity. In an increasingly complicated world, the role we can play at school in developing an understanding of the culture, languages, history and shared experience of countries across Europe and the world, seems all the more important! Languages sit firmly at the heart of school life, and it has been a joy to see this passion embedded across the curriculum and age ranges! A particular thank you to Madame Butler, Monsieur Delvenne and the very many parents who have come into school to support us in sharing a wealth of different languages and cultural experiences with pupils up. I hope these pictures give you a small glimpse into the variety of activities that have taken place across the school this week.
On the theme friendship and camaraderie, on Tuesday evening we were treated to a spectacular Year 7-9 Music Concert. Instrumentalists and vocalists took to the stage to share a range of impressive solo performances to a packed Willow Theatre. Our musicians have worked incredibly hard to develop their skills and it is always a treat to see the technical and musical leaps they have made after so much practice and hard work. As ever, I was blown away by their musicality but also by their courage and generosity of spirit in taking to the stage and sharing a performance with friends and family. I was particularly struck by the strong support they offered to their fellow performers - well done to everyone involved. The musical treats continued this morning when Year 1 and 2 were joined in the Willow Theatre by fellow pupils from Cholsey Primary school and world-famous musician Lin Marsh! We enjoyed a spectacular morning of musical fun, and we were all blown away by the incredible musical performances produced in such a short space of time!
On Monday and Wednesday, it was a treat to welcome Year 5 & 6 families into school for our Open classrooms. It is always an exciting moment for the pupils to bring their families into the classroom and to share the work they have been undertaking over the course of the first half of the school year. Thank you to everyone who was able to join us in the middle of a busy week. It was also lovely to speak to so many parents at our Junior Parents’ evening last night - your continued support and enthusiasm for life at school really is greatly appreciated.
With the last two weeks of term approaching, the Hockey season is reaching a busy climax. This week I have enjoyed accompanying our U10 and U11 Boys’ teams to fixtures against Moulsford and cheering on our U11 Girls as they progressed to the Regional Area Finals at Reading Hockey Club, following their County Cup win earlier this term. I was so impressed by the strong team spirit, friendships and sense of fun on display - not to mention some impressive Hockey skills and athleticism. Elsewhere in school our Hockey, Football and Netball teams have enjoyed a packed week of fixtures at against Headington, Sherfield, OPS, St Edwards, Marlborough College, Crosfields and OLA. Congratulations to everyone involved in representing school this week - those opportunities to build friendships, have fun and take on a challenge with your friends are some of the most powerful and enjoyable parts of a school week.
On that theme, we are looking forward to a busy weekend with our Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition teams heading out over the weekend. I'm sure they are going to have a great time and we'll look forward to hearing about how they get on when they return to school next week!
Please take a moment to look at this week in pictures . Best wishes for a restful weekend.
Dr James Raymond
Head