28 April 2018

At the heart of our educational philosophy is our strong belief in developing pupil’s self-belief and self-assurance.

We encourage them to challenge themselves in all aspects of school life, whether taking on the challenge task in lessons or trying a new club, instrument or sport. I never cease to be impressed by their enthusiasm and willingness to tackle these new challenges.

Historically, one of the great strengths of our school has been encouraging pupils to assume positions of responsibility from an early age. This is embedded right through our Junior and Senior School and culminates in the annual election of our Year 11 school leaders. A process that is keenly anticipated by the whole school body, it signals both a changing of the guard as our current Year 11s turn their focus to their GCSEs and as our Year 10s prepare to step up as figureheads for the school and role models to all our pupils.

The past week has seen a stream of application letters, interviews and speeches in front of the school as our pupils explained their ambitions and suitability for roles such as Senior School Head Girl or House Captain. I’m incredibly proud to say that the calibre of application, the eloquence with which the girls expressed themselves and the aplomb with which they conducted themselves during some daunting situations was absolutely exceptional. Notably, many of them described how their time at Cranford House has given them the confidence to step into the spotlight, giving all of us here a real cause for pride.

I believe this sense of self and confidence is the result of the myriad experiences and opportunities our pupils are afforded across their years at school. Whether performing in front of an audience, as our Year 3s did at their super Tea Concert this week, to zooming round a motor racing track like our Year 4 and 5 pupils on their Dare To Be Different STEM trip, or demonstrating initiative and enthusiasm through our newly implemented Active Learners programme, it is wonderful to see our boys and girls learning to approach fresh challenges with resolution and excitement.

(Pictured; Our Head Girl Candidates)

The process of choosing our new Senior School leaders will conclude next week and I very much look forward to sharing news of the appointments with you then.

I’m also very pleased to announce our most recent round of staff appointments for the Autumn as we continue to build towards our future. We are delighted that Mrs Anne Mir will be joining the school as our new Head of English, leaving her current post as Deputy Head of Sixth Form at The Abbey School, and she will be joined at Cranford House by her three daughters. We are also looking forward to welcoming Miss Megan Bray from Presdales School in Hertfordshire to our Humanities team. As well as having extensive teaching experience across the 11-18 age range, Miss Bray is a country netballer and avid hockey player who is looking forward to contributing strongly to our extra-curricular sports provision.

Finally, as we draw to the close of a very busy Open Week, it has been a great pleasure to welcome prospective parents and pupils to school. We are very proud of our school community and I have lost count of the times our visitors have mentioned the wonderful example set by our pupils as eloquent role models and ambassadors. We are delighted to be full for Year 7 entry in 2017 and rapidly filling up for entry into 2018. We are equally pleased to be running waiting lists in a number of our Junior year groups. We hope that you continue to see this, as we do, as an endorsement of your support for Cranford House.

With best wishes for a restful Bank Holiday weekend,

Dr J Raymond