7 July 2023
7 July 2023
Dear Parents
Gala Concert
Wow – I think it’s fair to say that we finished this year on an amazing high, with our Gala Concert at The Hexagon on Monday. It was an incredible occasion and a wonderful opportunity to gather the whole school community together to listen to the musical talents of such a broad age-range of our pupils. Witnessing the encouragement and support that the music department provide our pupils on a daily basis come alive with such energy, enthusiasm and talent, was a joy to behold. We have had such wonderful feedback from parents who greatly enjoyed the incredible choice of music and the opportunity the concert presented all our pupils to perform in such a spectacular theatre. We are immensely proud of all the children who took part, including our confident, talented pupil presenters. We hope you recognise this wonderful achievement and congratulate you all. We also thought you might like to see the concert again – please click here for an unlisted YouTube video.
Enrichment Week
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, our pupils were thrown into Enrichment Week, enjoying workshops in the Performing Arts, Creative Arts and Sport. It has been lovely walking around school, witnessing an abundance of creativity and seeing all the pupils embrace the activities wholeheartedly. Running alongside enrichment, there have been trips galore. The Creative Arts group enjoyed immersing themselves in the culture and glorious grounds at Sezincote House and have also enjoyed a workshop by visiting artist, Geoff Lawson. Performing Arts students had a special private viewing of the singalong version of ‘Encanto’, whilst the Sports Enrichment pupils enjoyed a high energy trip to Laser Gaming in Oxford (and I think it is fair to say have truly broken the accompanying staff!).
Uniform Changes
We are aware there have been some concerns amongst parents about a possible uniform change. We are excited to announce a change to the school name, from ‘Cranford House School’ to ‘Cranford’ and with this, a new logo that some of you may have spotted at the Gala Concert. This is a very small change, to align with the fact the school is usually referred to simply as ‘Cranford’ and also feels more relevant in the context of a modern, co-educational through-school. Please note, this will not impact school uniform. The new logo will be introduced on uniform from September 2024. However, current school uniform will be permitted until August 2026. We look forward to updating parents more in the new academic year.
Whole School Assembly
As is traditional at the end of each term, we have today enjoyed a whole school assembly. This is a rather wonderful occasion, providing highlights from musical performances over the term, delivered by different key stages, choir ensembles and orchestras and also included a rather magical solo from Poppy in Year 7. We celebrated the science of happiness, which it is fair to say was permeating the sports hall, and we also bid fond farewell to those colleagues leaving us today. Whole School Assemblies are always joyous occasions, underlining a powerful sense of togetherness and bringing home what a truly special place Cranford is. The feeling of community was so compelling, that on exiting, one Reception child was overheard saying ‘I don’t ever want to leave this school’. We are all very fortunate in being able to share sentiment.
And with that, I shall wish you a wonderful summer break and we look forward to welcoming you back for another incredible year in September!
Kind regards
Dr James Raymond
Headmaster