NATO Youth Conference Trip

On the 11th of October, ten History and Government and Politics students from Year 12 were lucky enough to attend a Q&A with some of the NATO Parliamentary Committee Presidents and Vice Presidents from countries including Luxembourg, Canada, the UK and Spain.

Becky B. (Year 12) , wrote:

“We were celebrating NATO’s 70th anniversary and, as a result, got to learn more about their role in defence today. What was interesting was that we got to ask about current affairs and hear first-hand how they were tackling certain issues. Madeleine Moon, the President of the UK committee, led the session and encouraged us to ask as many questions as possible to ensure we fully understood and got as much out of the event as we could. Issues such as Brexit, future technology, Turkey and the US came up of which it was interesting to hear their point of view on topics that we hear so much about in the recent news. I did not realise how much they were involved with current affairs, so it was definitely eye-opening. After the Q&A we went on a tour of Parliament and got to see places such as Westminster Hall, the House of Commons Chamber and the voting lobbies. It was fascinating to be able to see it in person after having seen it all so much on TV and in the news, as well as having a tour guide explaining the history behind it. Overall it was an enriching experience and definitely has influenced many of us to look more into NATO and their role in politics.”

#HelloYellow

Sixth formers are wearing yellow today and have donated £1 each in support of the Young Minds campaign ‘Say #HelloYellow’. To find out more about the campaign and donate, please go to this site

Recognition of Excellent Quality of Music Education

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.”

Partnership with London Irish Rugby

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.”

Putney Arts Theatre Year 9 Drama Workshop

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

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.

Medics Application Day

On Monday 30th September, year 12 and 13 students were invited to attend a Medics Application Day in Roehampton. They took part in a series of workshops, including UCAS application support, preparation for MCAT, mock MMIs and a talk on medical ethics. Sessions were supported by teachers and by doctors from St George’s, University of London.

Wimbledon BookFest

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.