This term we have had many sporting successes here at OSA with the most notable being our Year 8 Boys Rugby team making their debut at the Saracens Stone X stadium, alongside our Year 11 Boys reaching the Last-16 of the ESFA national cup, our first in our recent history. Both successes are on the back of our extensive extra-curricular provision that has provided these opportunities to set our ambitions and experience success.

We have also enjoyed hosting various sporting events this term. Inter house basketball tournaments have proven very popular with great participation - Year 7 in particular was very busy, making a fiercely competitive event. Our Sports Captains made us very proud with their fantastic work hosting a Year 8 7-a-side district tournament alongside Mr Davey, where our boys reached the semi-final! None of this would be possible without the commitment of our passionate PE department - a huge thank you to all of you!"

It has been a busy start to 2023 at Croxley Danes with inter-house competitions taking place, external career talks for our Year 10 and 11 students as well as a poignant assembly to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.

We were delighted that we were able to return to a live 'in-person' Parent’s Evening for our Year 11 students on 25 January as well as welcoming our Year 9 students and parents yesterday evening as they attend GCSE option evening at school.

As the January blues begin to fade away, we are delighted that Croxley Danes will be participating in this week's Hertfordshire-wide event ‘Feeling Good Week’ . With the aim to promote young people’s emotional wellbeing by raising awareness of the importance of mental health, we’ve taken on the challenge with plenty of activities going on throughout the week. Each day a variety of activities will be taking place including journalist club, gardening, origami, meditation, a variety of mental health and wellbeing workshops. A positivity tree will also be positioned at the heart of the school in the Learning Resources centre. Students will have the opportunity to send thank you cards to peers and teachers as well as to the local care home.

Chancellor’s students have continued to enjoy an amazing range of enrichment opportunities. In recent weeks, students have experienced a fantastic careers day, which involved a vast number of visitors and various face to face interactions with employers. As well as the usual sporting fixtures, students successfully competed in cross country County Championships. 

There have been several debating competitions, a Talent Show (organised by sixth form students) and trips to Berlin, Oxford University and a number of theatres. One of the highlights, though, was the outcomes of a group of Year 9 students who marked the Holocaust Memorial Day by carrying out some research, investigating stories of the victims of the Holocaust and producing a creative study of a personal object that was left behind. Here is a small selection of some of the moving work created by our talented students.

The Holocaust Memorial Day, 27 January, is a day to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside millions of other people, persecuted due to their beliefs, ethnicity, political views, sexuality or for standing against the Nazis. The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust also encourages remembrance and  reflection about other more recent genocides including: Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. 

Ms Railton gave an excellent assembly this week about this day and the theme: Ordinary People. Ms Railton examined some of those 'ordinary people': some who suffered and lost their lives and some who took the very brave decision to try and help those persecuted. She emphasised the power that ordinary people still have and the choice young people have to not be bystanders when they hear hate or prejudice but rather use their voices to counter these narratives and stand back objectively to make informed decisions as they get older.

You can read the full article here

On 10 January, Danes Educational Trust held their first primary Learner Voice Council induction day at Ascot Road School.  The LVC programme guides pupils through university style active research where they work alongside staff to develop the teaching and learning within their school.  

This work encourages pupils to become agents of change within the school community, empowering them to play a part in shaping their own lives and to go out into the world as its leaders.  The programme has been running in our secondary schools for two years and we are delighted to be able to bring the successful work to our primary schools.

You can read the full article here.