Croxley Danes

The Royal Navy Leadership Academy in Portsmouth visited Croxley Danes School to help our Year 12 senior prefects develop their leadership skills. The afternoon training session was filled with various activities and games that tested team working and communication skills with the aim to help younger students develop their own leadership skills, creating a cycle of leadership growth and development throughout the school. These newly developed abilities will be put to good use as the senior prefects will be working with and leading younger students in the school, including Year 11 prefects and prospective Year 12 students attending our Sixth Form induction day in July. 

We are grateful to the officers of the Royal Navy Leadership Academy for their valuable contribution to our school, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact of these newly developed skills on our students.

Chancellor's

In the autumn term, we launched our Reading Buddy initiative. Our aim is to support and encourage private reading and nurture a love of books amongst our reluctant readers. We also aim to encourage sixth-formers to develop their leadership and independence. 

Year 12 students were encouraged to volunteer to be buddies, they then received some preliminary training focusing on the importance of their role. They also learnt about prosody which is reading with expression – this is widely considered to be one of the hallmarks of reading fluency, and an important skill to learn and model. Students in Year 7 who currently read below their chronological age were identified and then allocated a Year 12 student to be their ‘buddy’.

Each week the buddies meet in the school library and read, discuss and choose books together. The session usually finishes with sixth-formers hearing the students read aloud. 

One of the wonderful aspects of this project has been witnessing the relationship between Year 12 and Year 7 blossom as they work together to develop their skills. 

Lanchester

A design by Inaaya from Lanchester Primary School won a competition to create a card to be sent to The Palace on behalf of the people of Watford. 

Dean Russell, Member of Parliament for Watford launched a competition for young people aged between 3 – 12 years, asking them to design a Coronation Card fit for a King! 

The whole school took part and the children really enjoyed designing a card fit for the King as part of our celebrations for the King's Coronation. Well done to all of the children that took part in this competition. It was very hard to choose only two entries for each year group.  A massive well done to Inaaya whose winning design was printed and sent on behalf of Watford to The Palace to offer our very best wishes to His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort for their unwavering and diligent service to the UK and the Commonwealth.

Dean Russell, visited the school with a copy of her design and some prizes from parliament. 

Onslow St Audrey's

This term our students have continued to enjoy an amazing range of enrichment opportunities here at OSA. We have hosted workshops with Adisa - a captivating performance poet; accompanied students to an inspirational basketball game at the O2; and rewarded students with an escape room challenge at Locked Rooms - to name a few.

Earlier this term, our Year 8 students thoroughly enjoyed a workshop arranged by our Design Technology teacher - Mr Hajilambi. The annual STEM Faraday Challenge Day, run by the Institute of Engineering and Technology, is an exciting and highly interactive program of activities. Students were arranged into groups and set challenges that involved planning, budgeting, designing, testing and reviewing their ideas. Faraday currency was used to purchase resources and create functioning prototypes to resolve real-world challenges. It was fantastic to see the passion and determination in our students as they worked hard to design the perfect solutions. We look forward to hosting the event again next year!

Elstree Screen Arts

We celebrate another successful year on the Elstree CraftSkills Traineeship, with our trainees receiving their accreditation certificates in a ceremony that took place on 23rd May. As a Centre for Screen Excellence, Elstree Screen Arts Academy provides industry recognised training in film and TV to 18-19 year olds who are passionate about the industry.

Over the past nine months, 38 trainees gained professional work experience at placements such as Brown Bob Productions, BBC Studiowork’s Eastenders, Angels Costume, Panavision and Sky News, as well as executing project briefs in documentary filmmaking, creating inspiring short films, animating a Wes Anderson-esque stop-motion, and producing a multi-camera live music event at Hackney Empire. During their learning block our Production assistants, Hair and makeup, Costume, Grip, Editing and Art direction trainees have collaboratively produced outstanding pieces of visual media for clients such as the Hertfordshire Police HALO team, and “Britains most celebrated choir” - the London Community Gospel Choir.

ESA are working collectively with Elstree Studios, BBC Studioworks, Sky Studios Elstree, Warner Bros. Leavesden, ScreenSkills and UK Film Alliance to provide the best technical training and build capacity in production hubs with a more inclusive and highly skilled workforce.

De Havilland

As part of our Early Years’ Talk For Writing text 'Farmer Duck', the children have had the opportunity to observe and rear their own baby ducklings. This is an experience so magical it encourages even our most reluctant learners (and parents) to become involved!

From the moment the duck eggs are delivered, it is awe and wonder for all. When the ducklings arrive, they are only a few days away from hatching so straight away the children are able to see the eggs wobbling and hear the ducklings chirping from inside, willing them to break out of their shells. 

In addition to gaining a greater understanding about the life cycle of a duck, the children will also learn about patience, responsibility and hygiene and discuss what has potentially happened if the egg does not hatch.

Not only do the children gain more knowledge and understanding of the world around them, it is a great opportunity to build on their oracy skills and learn new vocabulary to support their learning. Children as young as four are introduced to words such as fragile, elongated, vulnerable and incubator and are using them in context when articulating their learning to each other and visitors to our school.

Chancellor's

The Hertfordshire School Gala Concert on 30th April provided our young musicians with the experience of performing both as a solo choir and as part of the thousand other singers in the massed choir at the Royal Albert Hall. Despite an early start, I'm not sure some of the sixth form were that familiar with 7am on Sunday, the look in the student's eyes as we got off the coach was one of awe and wonder. Our initial waiting area was way up in the gallery and with the organist busy warming the sense of vastness and grandeur of the auditorium and the sound created therein was only heightened. 

For this gala concert we had auditioned with an acapella arrangement of The Turtles "Happy Together" and were given a coveted solo spot. Our rehearsal slot came and, as ever, there were a few last-minute corners to tidy up, but any nerves were rapidly overtaken by the adrenaline of performing in front of a full house. Chancellor's Chamber Choir are an incredible group of individuals, fine musicians who will not only attempt but master any music presented to them. This performance was no exception, the sheer joy on the faces of the choir was truly inspiring as they received a rousing applause for their efforts, make no mistake this was a once in a lifetime opportunity which affirmed the breadth and quality of music provision across Hertfordshire.