7 October 2022

I have been privileged this week to speak to many of our Year 13 students, conducting mock interviews in preparation for university admissions. This is an incredibly exciting time for this highly capable group of young people, as they consider their options for university. It also makes me feel immensely proud of the school. The innovation of our teaching staff and the pastoral care on offer have all helped in shaping these well-rounded, eloquent Sixth Formers who are getting ready for their next step in life and we cannot wait to see what lies in store for them all!

Similarly in terms of next steps, it was a pleasure to see the Sixth Form buzzing on Tuesday evening at our Year 11 Parent Tutor and Sixth Form Options evening. We welcomed our Year 11 pupils and parents and several external families, who enjoyed talking to the teaching team and current Sixth Form students about A levels and subject combinations. The interest in Cranford Sixth Form was replicated on Thursday when our Admissions Department were invited to a local school to take part in their Sixth Form Options Fair. We have had many compliments from both internal and external families about the breadth of the Sixth Form curriculum on offer, in addition to the wider enrichment programme available to our students, and we are looking forward to exploring this further with our Year 11 pupils over the next few weeks and months.

The DT Studio is the latest addition our superb facilities and I am so pleased to see so many of our children being able to use this wonderful space, under the guidance of our new DT Teacher, Mrs Plenty. There is great excitement as they have been exploring all the latest tools and technology available to them, including the 3D printer, laser-cut machine and much more besides. Our Year 7 pupils have made great strides in their design project. They have learnt to consider target audiences, designed mood boards, discussed properties of materials and chosen their best concept to create as their final piece. We look forward to seeing more creativity materialise from the DT studio over the course of the year.

Open Morning and Junior Discovery Day!

We are looking forward to our busiest ever Open Morning tomorrow, with families coming to look around the school for places across all Year Groups. Thank you in advance to our Senior Pupils for coming in to help support this event – you really are our best ambassadors, and we know from experience how much prospective families like finding out what you enjoy about being at Cranford.

Meanwhile, it is with great anticipation that we are eagerly planning our next Junior Discovery Day on the morning of Saturday 5 November, and I am delighted to reveal that the theme this year is ‘Magic at the Movies’! For our new parents, this is a huge community event where the school is transformed, featuring incredible exhibits and interactive activities and we welcome all our Junior families and extend the invite to friends as well. If any parents are wishing to have a clear out of dressing up costumes appropriate for Junior School aged children, we would be delighted to receive donations for this event, which shall be passed to charity after Junior Discovery Day. All donations will be gratefully accepted by the school office!

Have a lovely weekend!

Dr James Raymond

Headmaster