In July a number of our students wrote to residents in local care homes as part of the ‘Postcards of Kindness’ project, a wonderful initiative that encourages people to write and send postcards to residents of care homes with the aim of combating loneliness. Students wrote about their plans for the holidays, their interests and hobbies, things they’ve been enjoying at school and a joke or two. We were delighted last week when some care home residents wrote back to us saying how much they appreciated the cards we made. They have even invited our students to visit them in future. If your family would like to write to a care home you can find out more here. 

On the first day of term, Year 12 students were treated to a visit from the British Army for a range of  team-building icebreaker exercises. Before students got stuck in to the activities, officers gave a talk on what they do, detailing all the different roles there are within the Army and what they entail, including the countries they have had the opportunity to visit and activities they have participated in. Students then went outside and took part in a range of exercises involving tyres, tank building and ‘The Floor is Lava’. It was a fantastic way for the Year 12s to start their sixth form journey, with all activities encouraging students to work together as a team in order to complete them successfully. Thank you to the Army for visiting and providing them with this fantastic experience.

50 Year 11 students were awarded their Celebratory Ties in assembly last month. These ties are awarded to students who demonstrated outstanding achievement, attendance and attitude to learning when they were in Year 10. We are incredibly proud of their hard work and commitment to the school community and it was a pleasure giving these students the recognition they deserve. We look forward to continuing to celebrate their success and progress as they work towards their GCSE exams. 

To mark the end of our 2023 Languages Week activities and to celebrate our school community in all its diversity, we invited students and staff to come to school wearing clothing from their culture or heritage for Culture Day, whilst raising money for Save the Children. It was fantastic to see students embrace the day with so many cultures and countries represented. Thank you so much to everyone who got involved and for all who donated and helped us raise above our target for this worthy cause. 

We enjoyed Languages Week at Croxley Danes last month, celebrating the diversity of languages spoken at Croxley Danes and recognising European Language Day. Students were treated to a variety of events and activities ranging from quizzes and challenges, themed food in the canteen, a viewing of a foreign film in subtitles and a language fair where students were given the opportunity to give new languages a try with our Years 10,11 and 12 students. One of the highlights of the week was undoubtedly the bake-off sale, our annual charity fundraiser for Save the Children. Students showcased their many baking talents, bringing in a fantastic array of homemade cakes and cupcakes representing a language or country. The high standards made judging very difficult! Our bake sale raised just over £260 for Save the Children, our largest amount ever. Thank you so much to all our cake makers, without which this would not have been possible, and thanks to our student Language Leaders and Sixth Formers for their help in serving cakes.