As part of the Send My Friend to School campaign, MP Gagan Mohindra visited Croxley Danes recently to listen to a select group of students including our Send My Friend Ambassadors, Emma and Jess, deliver an inspiring presentation of the Campaign’s Young Person’s policy report through art and poetry. With childrens’ rights to education being obstructed on an unprecedented scale globally due to emergencies such as conflict and natural disasters, the Send My Friend campaign fights to protect every child’s right to education at all times, everywhere. We are very proud of our students who spoke eloquently and with passion for the cause, with the hope of raising awareness so the government will act. A big thank you to our guest, Mr Mohindra for providing the opportunity for their voices to be heard; an empowering day all round.

This year’s Enrichment Week was a huge success with students being off-timetable for the majority of the week whilst they were treated to a range of activities, visits from inspirational guest speakers, experiences and trips. The week’s activities ended on a high with a sports fun day for all which saw students take part in boxing, trampolining, rock climbing, archery tag and a range of inflatable activities. A huge thank you to our incredible staff for organising such a fantastic and enriching week and to our Parent Association who, with the exception of trips, were instrumental in ensuring the week could run without any cost to parents.  

The Croxley Danes U15 Girls’ Football Team travelled to Worcester last week to play in the U15 Girls’ National Cup Final for New Teams, hosted at the Sixways Stadium. Playing against Langley School, the team were excited to have their first taste of cup final football in front of a crowd of family and staff. Unfortunately the team succumbed to an early goal through quick interplay from Langley School’s Norwich academy and England players, however once the girls had steadied themselves they were on top for the remainder of the first half, controlling the pace of the game and creating goal scoring opportunities. The second half followed the pattern of the first and again the girls were unlucky to concede an early second half goal, leaving the team with a mountain to climb. The girls rallied and pushed hard resulting in thrilling counter-attacking footbal,l but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. The final score was 2 - 0. Having collected their runners-up medals, the girls can hold their heads up high, a National Cup final appearance is a huge achievement and one the team should be immensely proud of. 

On Friday 7th July, the Year 11s celebrated the end of their GCSEs by attending the Year 11 Leavers Prom. The event was held at The Metropolitan in Bushey and was a fantastic conclusion to their time at Croxley Danes. All students thoroughly embraced the formal attire dress code and arrived in beautiful ball gowns and stylish suits. The students took full advantage of the dance floor and danced the night away from start to end. The night was a real success, a huge thank you to Miss Webb for all her hard work organising the event and to all the staff who supported her on the evening. Year 11 have done incredibly well this year and we are so proud of how they approached their exams. We look forward to seeing the students on results day and wish them all a restful summer.

As part of Enrichment Week, Year 12 experienced a successful Careers Day which ranged from personal statement workshops to industry talks and an interview experience. They were treated to a variety of talks with representatives from Google, Hill Construction, KPMG, London Concrete Ltd, the Prison Service, SKY, TK Maxx, Tropical Marine Centre Ltd and UCL. We were grateful to also have parents visit careers to give presentations and enlighten students on career opportunities in marketing, accountancy, financial services, HR and clinical research and whether a university degree or apprenticeship is required. The day concluded with students taking part in a mock interview on the basis of their prepared personal statement or CV. The students received fantastic feedback from our guests and it was a pleasure to see everyone fully engage with the day which will hold them in good stead for the future.

Students were filled with enthusiasm in creating their projects for the science fair this month. Working in pairs or threes, students were challenged to come up with an experiment to test, a piece of research to conduct or a model to build. Choosing whatever they wanted to investigate and research, students used their workbook to formulate their ideas and used lesson time to plan and create their practical work over the course of a week before displaying their finished projects at the science fair. With the room alive with activity, students were excited to showcase their projects to various staff members who came along to see the students’ finished work. Well done to Isaac J and Thomas B for winning first prize for their experiment involving mentos. A special commendation also went to Oscar M for his enthusiasm, excellent presenting skills and scientific knowledge within a team that made the mousetrap car.