Recognition of Excellent Quality of Music Education

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We are delighted to announce that we have been accredited with the Music Mark which recognises the excellent quality of music education we provide to our pupils and sixth formers.

Ms Bridget Whyte, Music Mark CEO wrote: “We would like to thank you for all the hard work you and your colleagues do to ensure that pupils at your school are able to access and engage with a high-quality music education. Your dedication to offering and delivering a broad and balanced curriculum is both welcomed and celebrated.”

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Partnership with London Irish Rugby

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We have joined forces with London Irish Rugby Club in an exciting partnership to grow and develop rugby opportunities within the school.

The partnership will offer students:

  • Training from London Irish Rugby coaches twice a week with branded kit for a group of 26 players in the Saint Cecilia’s rugby academy

  • Opportunities to attend London Irish home matches

  • Strength and conditioning nutritional support

  • The opportunity to meet London Irish first team players

Hari McCormack, London Irish Community Manager, said: “We look forward to working with Saint Cecilia’s to provide player development  opportunities to individuals that are looking to  improve and progress their rugby.”

 

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Putney Arts Theatre Year 9 Drama Workshop

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Putney Arts Theatre visited the school this week to deliver a workshop for Year 9 pupils based on devising skills and specifically, using music as a stimulus to create performance.

To start, the pupils had great fun playing a getting to know you game which moved quickly into working in pairs to complete short, improvised scenes inspired by song lyrics, such as ‘I just can’t wait to be King!’.

For the main section of the workshop, pupils rehearsed in larger groups to create a movement piece and we asked to use sections of a song by the Lumineers. The song suggest themes of soldiers being sent to war and the students reflected this beautifully in their performances. It was fantastic to see how students were able to produce high quality and engaging pieces of Drama with a sense of maturity and sensitivity in such a short amount of time. A pupil wrote: “I found it really fun and interesting. The facilitators made it so easy to ask questions and were super supportive.” Another pupil commented: “I thought it was good and was an amazing way to join with other people with different ideas and opinions. It was a great way to express my feeling through acting.

Black History Month

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The Library is again celebrating Black History Month with a great range of reading. Children are being encouraged to read from our Black History Month display, which features many new and topical books. They should give us some feedback on the book within 7 days of borrowing it to gain reward points. More information is available in the Library. To see some of the books in our display, follow the link here. Please note, some of the books are labelled with a red star indicating they are suitable for older children only.

Wimbledon BookFest

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Malorie Blackman on stage at the Wimbledon BookFest was one of the best author events ever! Considering her fame and distinguished career (she is the author of seventy books and was the first ever black Children’s Laureate), she came across as warm and unpretentious, answering questions with candour and humour. She explained how Noughts & Crosses grew into a series as she needed to continue the characters’ stories, and how different readers worldwide have related its theme to their own situations, the Palestinian/Israeli conflict for example.

It was disturbing to hear of her lived experience as a young black person, being told by a careers advisor that “black people don’t study English Literature and become teachers”, but that she could be a secretary. And to hear of insults suffered in the street when she walked with her mixed race daughter. These outrages remind us of the importance of Black History Month, which we celebrate in October.

The event included a sneak preview of the new B.B.C. adaptation of Noughts & Crosses, and every year 9 child attending received a copy of the latest book in the series, Cross Fire. But this won’t be the last we hear about Sephy and Callum. One more book will follow and will be called End Game.

The Library is again celebrating Black History Month with a great range of reading. Children are being encouraged to read from our Black History Month display, which features many new and topical books. They should give us some feedback on the book within 7 days of borrowing it to gain reward points. More information is available in the Library. To see some of the books in our display, follow the link here. Please note, some of the books are labelled with a red star indicating they are suitable for older children only.

Visit from Korean teachers and librarians

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The Library welcomed a delegation of four Korean teachers and librarians, accompanied by a translator. The visitors were here to see how we successfully manage the Library and promote reading in school.

Ms Derby, our Librarian, facilitated the visit and the group had the opportunity to tour the school, interact with the children, observe the Library and enjoy some refreshments.

We very much enjoyed the exchange of ideas!