15 September 2023

15 September 2023

Dear Parents

As we reach the end of the first full week back of the Autumn term, I hope you are all looking forward to a restful and enjoyable weekend. As school life has settled into a rhythm over the last few days, it has been wonderful to see all of our pupils growing in confidence and enjoying the challenges and opportunities presented by a new school year.

A huge thank you to everyone who has joined us at the Coffee Mornings that have taken place this week. These are such an important opportunity to be able to catch up with families, chat informally and answer any questions! We have made the decision to move our Coffee Mornings into the Sixth Form Lecture Theatre, which is a more convenient and spacious location for families. Next week is the turn of the Year 10 and 11 parents, on Tuesday morning. We hope to see you there!

On Tuesday evening we enjoyed a busy Junior Welcome Evening, I hope that families across the Junior school found the evening helpful. I know the Junior Form Teachers greatly enjoyed meeting everyone and talking about the year ahead. It has been lovely welcoming so many new families to the school over the last week.

Senior Prize Giving
A huge thank you to all the parents who attended Senior Prize Giving yesterday at The Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford. Prize Giving is always a hugely anticipated event in the school calendar and a wonderful opportunity to both celebrate the last year at Cranford and also to look ahead to the future. Yesterday evening was a joyful occasion as we said a fond farewell to the Class of 2023 as they head off to a rich array of different universities and the world beyond Cranford. It was lovely to chat to students, many of whom who are heading off to university this weekend. One of the many great privileges of being a teacher is sharing in this journey with our pupils as they grow up through Junior School into Sixth Form. I know you will all join me in wishing them every success as they embark on new adventures.

I was incredibly proud of all of the pupils who performed during the evening, our pupil speakers were particularly impressive, eloquently bringing to life for the audience the highlights of the last year in school. Mrs Powell and the music department brought an extra-special layer to the event with superb musical interludes from the Choir, Chamber Choir, Chamber Orchestra and some spell-binding solo performances. Thank you to all our pupil performers – you were exceptional, and we are proud of each and every one of you. Please do take a minute to look through some of the photos of Prize Giving.

I hope you are all looking forward to a restful family weekend and are able to enjoy the lovely September weather.

Kind regards

Dr James Raymond
Headmaster