www.drapersacademy.com

Christmas Newsletter

2019

Wishing you all a good Christmas holiday. We look forward to welcoming the pupils back to school onMonday 6th January 2020

Dear Pupils, Students, Parents, Carers and our extended community

Welcome to our last newsletter of the year. As ever it is jam-packed with a diverse range of extra-curricular and enriching activities that showcase some of our finest pupils and students. This has been a long and busy term both within and outside the classroom. Not a week has passed by without a trip or an additional activity to enhance our forever growing curriculum.

I am pleased to say that our pupils in Year 11 and Year 13 took their mock examinations very seriously and their behaviour during the sessions was impeccable. I hope this is reflective in their results come January.

Many of the articles in this term’s newsletter have a particular focus on our pupils’ and students’ futures. We continue to develop many links for our school and our Career’s Information Advice and Guidance Team (Ms Majmudar and Mrs Henderson) ensure that pupils from all Years have opportunities to enhance their futures.

The Drapers’ Academy Choir continue to impress me, not only with their growing talent (enhanced by Mrs Dunn) but also their kind nature. They have once again visited the elderly in local care homes, patients at St Francis Hospice and also raised money ‘busking’ in Romford market. They epitomise what it is to be a kind Drapers’ Academy citizen, giving back to the community, especially when it’s so needed at this time of year.

We certainly have some very talented pupils in the school and my highlight this term has to be the school performance of ‘Made in Dagenham’. Our entire cast were superb actors, singers, dancers and comedians all rolled into one. Although hilariously funny in places, they managed to portray a significant moment in the history of equality and equal pay for women. This important issue resonated through the school, sparking some moral debate and understanding of a problem that unfortunately, although to a lesser extent, is still evident in the UK today. After the longest term of the academic year we are all looking forward to an enjoyable break. I hope during this holiday that you and your family manage to spend some quality time together, enjoying the festive season.

Thank you for your continued support. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year too!

Best wishes,Mr Luckhurst, Principal

Careers - Year 7 Workshop

According to Carol Dweck mindset theory, if students believe that their ability is fixed, they will not want to do anything to change their attitude. The growth mind-set workshops delivered by QMUL introduced year 7s to the idea that they can improve their ability and attitude through coping strategies and techniques to have a positive effect on their learning. In small groups Y7s explored the idea of having a fresh start to education, ways to achieve higher grades and how to overcome challenges. The Y7s found the sessions fun and interactive as one of the tasks was to attempt to make an origami penguin both with and without instructions.

Mrs Henderson, Careers Co-ordinator

Apothecary Dinner Event

On Thursday November 7th, a small selection of the Drapers’ Academy Choir were invited to sing at the Worshipful Society Of The Apothecaries as after dinner entertainment. This was one of the most prestigious venues that the choir have ever been asked to sing at. The choir sang three songs and pupils oozed confidence and sang with their heart throughout.

I was extremely proud of the quality of the performance that the choir gave. The response from the audience was overwhelming. The choir received a standing ovation and an invitation to enter a competition at the Festival Hall in March.

Ms Dunn, Teacher of Music

Basildon Court

As part of their A Level Sociology studies we visited Basildon Magistrates Court in October 2019. Students saw a range of cases from Driving Under the Influence through to shoplifting, fraud and carrying a knife in public.

We saw how having a good defence lawyer was crucial in achieving justice and how most of the people who were facing prosecution were stereotypical ‘criminals.’

Mr Bryant, Head of Sixth Form

Careers - Year 11 RPA Event

Year 11 pupils attended the ‘Moving On’ event held annually by the London Borough of Havering at Harrow lodge. The event supports Year 11 with information advice and Guidance about local education and training options available for young people when they leave school . This year the exhibitors include: TFL, Edge Hotel School, Fashion Retail Academy, a number of universities, all exhibiting alongside local Havering schools, sixth form and FE colleges.

Mrs Henderson, Careers Co-ordinator

Careers - Year 10 Skills Visit

Year 10 pupils had the opportunity to think about their early career aspiration and planning at the Excel Skills London event. The event was full of interactive, fun, inspiring and informative activities. Pupils were able to get involved in hands-on demonstrations a wide range of industry professionals and discover the huge variety of careers / opportunities available to them. The majority of the pupils who attended were very positive and enjoyed speaking to employers as well as finding out more about different courses / training programmes.

Mrs Henderson, Careers Co-ordinator

Essex University Trip

As part of our independent careers advice, we took the entire Y12 to Essex university. Students had a tour of the campus, had the chance to look at accommodation, spoke to current undergraduates and had presentations about the UCAS process and the different courses available to them. There was also an interactive presentation on the negative effects of social media and whether or not it leads to isolation. Victoria Porter did extremely well in this aspect of the day and was a credit to the Academy.

Mr Bryant, Head of Sixth Form

Crime and Deviance Day at Chelmsford Cathedral

On Wednesday 13th November over one hundred A level students converged on Chelmsford Cathedral for a Crime and Deviance Day. They were from Moulsham High School, The Royal Hospital School in Suffolk and The Drapers’ Academy in Romford. This, another in what has become an annual event organised by The Vice Dean and Canon Pastor and Lee Bryant, Head of Drapers’ 6th form, is designed as a cross-curricula day, offering students from different academic disciplines the chance to explore a topic of common interest and relevance from their particular fields of study. The day is arranged at the cathedral as part of its outward facing outreach and mission, and to introduce the students to the concept of the cathedral as a teaching space - a crossing point for different ideas, opinions and arguments.There were presentations from Lee, Lilly Sharpe, herself a Year 13 student, and Ian Bickers an ex-governor of Wandsworth Prison and now Deputy Director of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, and the conference was brought to a lively end by Emma Cole, who deeply affected the students by her honest and passionate account of her living with

a twenty eight year old diagnosis of being HIV+. She pointed out to the students that it is one of the few conditions which, if found to have been caused deliberately, carries a custodial sentence.

During the day the students were challenged to engage on a variety of crime and deviance subjects, including women and crime, tackling issues like why women are treated in a different way to men by the media, and why it is that statistically women commit less crime than men, a subject enhanced by a drama called ‘Five different women’ performed

by some Drapers Academy students. Ian Bickers presented the young people with some fascinating statistics, like the fact that in the last thirty years the prison population has doubled, and more people are re-offending. He said that the Prison and Probation Service have reduced the number of young people in custody, but need to do the same for BAME groups; and it has been working to understand the different needs of male and female prisoners. He asked the young people to discuss whether or not they felt prisons work, and if not with what would we replace them, and how could we deter people from committing crime?

The reaction of most young people to the day was a very positive one, and staff from the schools represented committed to working on another Crime and Deviance day at the cathedral in 2020, next time with an emphasis on criminal psychology.

Mr Bryant, Head of Sixth Form

Careers - Year 11 Careers Event

This was a hugely successful event with over 20 providers from a range of colleges and employers. We had representatives from some of the largest employers of apprenticeship schemes such as BT NHS, Civil Service. Also, for the first time , Andrew Butler QC from the Drapers gave Year 11s a real insight into getting into law. The Careers Fair supported pupils to focus on their post 16 progression. They had the opportunity to discuss their ideas about education and the world of work in order to make important choices about their futures. Feedback gathered from Year 11s stated that speaking to experts and exploring the different pathways to them helped to o that they take control of their own career destinations. One Year 11 pupil commented on are planning for entry to Sixth Form or alternative routes; sixth formers are preparing for further studies at university or elsewhere, or for training or employment.

Mrs Henderson, Careers Co-ordinator

Faraday Challenge

Six of our year 8 pupils attended the Royal Liberty School to take part in the Havering Faraday Challenge. Their task was to design an object that can assist aid workers in areas of war/disaster.

Our team created a great prototype of a portable shelter. It was to provide shelter for vulnerable adults and children but giving them a place to keep warm, dry and sleep. It was fitted with a light and an alarm to alert rescue workers as to their location. The pupils conducted themselves with great professionalism and worked through their task with purpose. The final presentation of their idea highlighted the huge amount of work and effort that went into the task.

The presentation was delivered with great conviction. Although we did not progress in the challenge we are all hugely proud of what they achieved.

Mr Batt, Year 8 Achievement Leader

Productions

Year 9 students and GCSE and A level drama students were lucky enough to have ‘Frantic Assembly’ come in and perform to them in our sports hall. Frantic Assembly are a professional theatre company and are studied in the GCSE and A level schemes of work. All students were inspired by this and it is now reflecting in both their drama and English work.

This year’s school production was Made in Dagenham, and was performed on the 12th and 13th November by our talented pupils. KS4 and KS5 pupils took part to showcase their talent, with two pupils from KS3 who were chosen for their attitude and ability. One of our teachers was able to get in contact with the CEO of Ford UK who attended the play and called it “utterly brilliant”. He also lent the school two vintage cars to highlight the event. The students performed phenomenally on both nights and gave of a sense of a professional theatre company.

Miss Lee, Teacher of Drama

Media Insight Day

We took a group of sixth form students to the Press Association, Paddington, to meet an ex-student, Abbianca, who is working there on an apprenticeship scheme. We were given a tour of their offices including the Press Room and students spoke to Abbianca’s colleagues about how they ensure that the stories that they release are as truthful and accurate as possible. We also were shown how they use analytics to establish which news stories were being viewed the most.

Mr Bryant, Head of Sixth Form

Painesbrook Court

Members of our choir entertained residents of local care home, Painesbrook Court as part of our Christmas in the Community. Pictured with the choir is Ellen, a ‘proud Essex Girl’ of 101!

Mrs Dunn, Teacher of Music

French Play “Les Garçons” by Onatti Productions

To celebrate the European Day of Languages in September, our year 9 and year 10 pupils participated in a French play called “Les Garçons“ (Boys!). The play was performed by two native French actors from Onatti productions who tour the schools of Europe with their shows. The production company’s aim is to “boost the students” confidence so they leave having watched a play in a foreign language, been able to follow the story, recognized many words and phrases and enjoyed and related to the story”. The play tells the story of a teenage girl who, while babysitting, is visited by her ex-boyfriend who wants to get back together with her. It included much audience participation and was an excellent way of developing students’ listening skills as they were completely immersed in the language. Due to the huge popularity of the show with our pupils, we will be certainly looking to host Onatti productions again. Here is what some audience members said:

“Les Garçons was a very well put together production at our school. Considering it was in French all the way through, I understood the majority of it and I think it was very authentic and almost transported you to France. The set up was amazing and was written with excellence. Brilliant humour and amazing atmosphere!“ Alex C., year 10

“I loved the show! It was fascinating, interesting, expressive and dramatic. I wish I could see it again! If I was to ask them one question I would want to know how long it took them to rehearse this play. I hope they come again another time.“ Nadia F., year 10

“The play Les Garçons was a very creative way of helping non-French speaking speakers understand since the actors used many gestures and actions to help the audience comprehend what they were saying. It was gripping, funny and interested everyone who was watching it since it had a unique storyline. The energy from the actors and how they included the audience and were interactive made it worth the wait.“ Melisa K., year 10

“The vocabulary of the play was designed for GCSE students, being able to understand what they were saying motivated me to work harder at French, as I didn’t know before how much I truly knew. Les Garçons was entertaining and I believe can be at least somewhat helpful to any GCSE French student.“ Amy T., year 10

“I loved Les Garçons ! The acting was extraordinary and the plot was amazing. The show had good humour from beginning to end, and the actors were extremely talented. The characters swaps were seamless, and their speech was very clear and emphasised so I could understand most of what they were saying. I also extremely enjoyed how they interacted with the audience. I hope that they come again soon. Their show was an unforgettable experience!” Rebecca A., year 10

Miss Adamčíková, Teacher of French

Media presentation at Drapers’ Hall

We took a group of students to Drapers’ Hall for a presentation by Charles Able, a Draper, who works in journalism. Students sat in an interactive presentation that covered topics such as the newsworthiness of stories, the accuracy of the media, fake news. They conducted a media content analysis of todays’ newspapers and were given some excellent advice as to how to succeed as journalists.

Mr Bryant, Head of Sixth Form

St. Omer Trip

On Wednesday 18th December, fifty of our year 8 pupils joined the MFL department on our annual journey to Le Château d’Ebblinghem, a country house located near the town of St. Omer in France. En route, they were able to enjoy breakfast on the ferry before exploring the town of Boulogne and visiting a traditional village bakery for a spot of hands-on croissant-making. We arrived at our accommodation just in time for pupils, staff and our driver to enjoy a festive dinner together.

Thursday saw us seeing the city of Lille from the vantage point of the giant ferris wheel, then practising our French at the Christmas market before moving on to the Centre Historique Minier, a fascinating museum where we learned about the historic importance of mining to the local economy. After an early dinner at the Château we travelled to Ypres, in Belgium, where we were able to watch the last post bugle call at the Menin Gate, a ceremony which takes place every evening at 20:00 to commemorate British soldiers who lost their lives during World War I.

After breakfast on Friday we said goodbye to our hosts and made our way back to the P&O terminal, stopping en-route for a visit to the Cité Europe shopping centre for last minute gifts or souvenirs. By the time we arrived back at school in the late afternoon, everyone was well and truly ready for their two-week rest…

Mrs Burr, Head of Modern Foreign Languages Faculty

Stratford Trip

The year 11 Geographers enjoyed a day trip to Stratford to collect data for the fieldwork component of their GCSE. They were investigating whether environmental quality was better in the regenerated or unregenerated areas of Stratford, following the Olympic Games. They decided it most definitely was better in the newer areas. As an added bonus they got to go up to the Arcellor-mital viewing platform with panoramic views over London and some of them got to “ride the slide!”

Ms Morgan, Head of Geography

Holocaust Talk

On the 30th October Drapers’ Academy GCSE history pupils were privileged to experience a talk from Holocaust Survivor Leslie Kleinman. Leslie was born into an orthodox Jewish family in Hungary in 1929 . After the Nazi invasion of 1944 his family were forced into ghetto and then deported to Auschwitz Birkenau. The pupils were shocked and amazed to learn about Leslie’s life in this notorious death camp and saddened to hear that Leslie’s family were all killed. Leslie’s experience being starved and beaten by the Nazis and then forced to work building railways before being sent on a death march, provided a harrowing yet fascinating insight into the horrors of the Second World War, that the pupils respectfully listened to. They had the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the talk and were particularly moved on discovering that Leslie is a positive individual who uses his experiences to spread a message of acceptance.

Mrs Little, Head of Humanities Faculty

History Quiz

On the 21st November the history department hosted the Great Big Drapers’ GCSE History Mock Revision Quiz of the year. There was an excellent turn out of pupils who worked in teams to get through 10 rounds of activities and questions on topics linked to their upcoming mock exams. Former GCSE history Yr12 students became examiners for the evening as they worked hard to mark the efforts of the pupils with evening being rounded off with a tie breaking caption competition. They were treated to pizza and snacks to reward their commitment to their studies with the winning team walk away with £25 worth each of amazon vouchers.

Mrs Little, Head of Humanities Faculty

English National Ballet

The English National Ballet came to Drapers’ Academy on the 14th of September, to carry out a workshop. The workshop delved into the acclaimed Akram Khan’s Giselle, a classic story reimagined, about love, betrayal and forgiveness. Pupils explored production concepts, themes and aesthetics. Also, students built knowledge and understanding of dance by learning repertoire and participating in practical creative tasks, in turn igniting passion, excitement and appreciation for dance. Pupils got the opportunity to dance to live music and perform with the Dance students from Harris Academy. A wonderful morning all round!

Miss Duck, Teacher of English and Dance

QMUL

Last night we took a group of students to a lecture at QMUL. The speaker was Michael Foale, an astronaut, who engaged the audience with inspiring stories about his time in space and the challenges that we face as humans in conquering new scientific frontiers.

Mr Bryant, Head of Sixth Form

St. Francis Hospice Visit

In the run up to Christmas, the choir sang at St. Francis Hospice, the patients and staff were greatly moved by their performance. The choir were also asked to sing on the ward. We then sang outside in the square. Patients were asking for their windows to be opened so they could hear the singing.

A very moving experience for all involved.

Mrs Dunn, Teacher of Music

Year 9 Smile-ing Boys’ Project

This half term the internationally acclaimed artist - Kay Rufai has led the mental well-being project for BAME Boys in London. The Project was created as a direct response to the rise in youth stabbings which sparked a series of reactionary approaches from the government regarding tougher criminalisation of youth, more stop and searches and greater police presence in minority communities.

These approaches inspired Kay to explore the often neglected public health approach, which required investigating the mental health provisions or lack thereof, for the demographic in question – overwhelmingly black youth.

The project involved research trips to Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden, Norway) and Bhutan (for its measure of Gross National Happiness instead of GDP), to explore the factors that contribute towards enabling these countries to rank amongst the top 10 happiest countries in the world consistently for the past decade.

This ongoing ethnographic research uncovered eight main factors responsible for the high happiness ranking average of the citizens in these Scandinavian countries. These factors were then used to design a series of photography, poetry and discussion based art workshops with BAME Boys delivered by the Artist – Kay Rufai.

The project involved 19 of our Year 9 boys. For seven weeks they participated in workshops, exploring the themes of identity, belonging, freedom, respect, ambition, conflict and aspiration. On Tuesday the 9th December, Kay Rufai took the boys to the Tate Britain to see British director, Steve McQueen’s Year 3 portrait exhibition. Whilst there the boys had their own portraits taken, celebrating themselves and their fabulous smiles! As a special treat for all of their hard work and participation in their project, Kay Rufai took the boys for a celebratory lunch at Nandos. All of the portraits will be on exhibition on January 27th at Drapers’ Hall for parents, pupils and governors to view.

Miss Richardson, Vice Principal

Year 11 Reward trip – ‘Dick Wittington’ at the Hackney Empire

On Friday 13th December, 35 Year 11 students attending the Hackney Empire to watch the pantomime ‘Dick Wittington.’ The show starred one of my former students in the lead role, Tarinn Callender, who has just finished a two year stint in the West End hit musical ‘Hamilton’.

It was a fantastic evening, with lots of laughter!

At the end of the show, Year 11 met the stars of the show at the stage door and had the opportunity to talk to Tarinn, who kindly shared some words of wisdom with them.

Miss Richardson, Vice Principal

Remembrance Day

On Friday 8th November we held our Annual Remembrance Service. Pupils from KS3 and the 6th Form gathered on the Plaza. We were also joined by Year 3 pupils from Drapers’ Maylands.

An address was made by our Principal, Mr Luckhurst and prayers and poems were read by our Deputy Head Boy and Deputy Head girl. Wreaths were laid by the Sixth Form and representatives from Drapers’ Maylands School.

Mrs Monk, Vice Principal

Accelerated Readers

This year Drapers’ Academy has invested in a new computer-based reading programme called Accelerated Reader for all year 7 and year 8 pupils. This reading programme is designed to improve reading confidence and independence and has been positively embraced by staff and students alike. Our aim is to create a culture of reading through choice. The programme makes sure that every student has a reading book – this is now standard academy equipment. Form time has been changed to make sure that 20 minutes is given to improving reading skills and there is structured targeted intervention for those that are struggling to make progress. Many pupils in year 7 and 8 are already benefitting from the new reading system and a couple of weeks ago there was an assembly to celebrate the top ten readers across the year groups.

Ms Morgan, Lead Practitioner - Literacy

Creative Writing Club

Creative writing club is going from strength to strength this term, with new members joining all the time! We have been doing a lot of collaborative projects and the pupils have been immersing themselves into genre writing. This term we have had some fantastic pieces written by the pupils using the genre of horror and the gothic. What pupils have to say about the club:

• ‘I enjoy working with my friends to help me improve my writing’ Olivia

• ‘I like how we have different options and activities to try.’ Kyanna

• ‘I really enjoy the competition side of the club’ Titus

• ‘I have been able to lead on a writing project.’ Bobby

If you enjoy writing and like being creative then do come along to Creative writing club on Monday lunchtimes in room 107!

Mr Archer, Teacher of English

WORD MILLIONAIRE

It gives me great pleasure to announce our first ever WORD MILLIONAIRE for Accelerated Reader! Maya Lenzi in 7FR1 has read over 1 million words over the last six weeks. In fact since Maya became the first word millionaire, she has gone on to read an additional 800,000 words!

Maya has also taken and passed 33 out of 33 Accelerated Reader quizzes. If you see Maya around the school please praise her and ask her about the 33 books she has read this academic year.

Ms Morgan, Lead Practitioner - Literacy

MerryChristmas and a

Happy NewYear!

ESU Schools’ Mace Debate Competition

On Thursday 28th November three students from Drapers’ Academy travelled to The Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls to compete in the prestigious Schools’ Mace debate competition. Organised by the English Speaking Union, the Schools’ Mace was founded in 1957 and is the oldest and largest debate competition for schools in England.

We were assigned the following motion: ‘This House believes that voting should be compulsory.’ The proposition were represented by Raphael Independent School in Hornchurch. It was clear that both team proposition and team opposition had researched the aptly timed motion extensively. Raphael Independent School cited the Brexit referendum and likened voting to jury service as part of their proposition argument. Drapers’ Academy, represented the opposing side in this motion, spoke persuasively about the difference between a civic right and a civic duty and the inherent anti-democratic sentiment that would exist with forcing people to vote.

The debate was judged according to the high standard of official ESU criteria by a qualified debate judge alongside Councillor Keith Darvil. Drapers’ Academy won! The judges commented on the decorum and sophistication of the arguments made by the three students from Drapers’ Academy. The next round of the competition continues in January and will see Drapers’ Academy debate the following motion: ‘This House regrets the commercialisation of Pride.’

A massive well done to the following students who represented Drapers’ Academy in this competition and a thank you to Miss Ludlow and Miss Dove for supporting the students:

Niyaz Hussain - Daisy Robins - Lydia Tyler

Ms Morgan, Lead Practitioner - Literacy

Panathlon

A big well done to the following students on coming second, receiving a silver medal in the Havering Panathlon competition on the 27th November. They were all amazing and worked very well as a team.

Isabella Smith, Jessica Diaz, Danielle Humphreys, Chantai Rayment-White, Tyra Ricketts, Liam Bovell, Anthony Dennington, Lewis Howard, Grace Allen, Freddie Manley, Frazer Hands (Captain), Seta Samimi.

Going for gold next year!

Mrs Winn, Teacher of PE

U14 Girls Football Team

In early September, Naomi Jackson trialled against other U14 girls in the borough to secure a place in the Havering Girls District football team and was successful. Well done to the U14 Girls football team who have achieved very well so far this year. The girls have done particularly well in the National Cup, reaching the 4th round. To put this into context we are one of the 64 teams left in the competition out of 337 teams in the country. Highlighted below are the top goal scorers: Grace Koy, Deborah Mushonga, Iasha Sillah, Demi Haynes, Naomi Jackson, Julia Brkic, Valeria Brkic, Olivia Gogoi, Ocean Scott, Molly Dodd, Holly Winser, Callie Barnett, Naomi Jackson, Alicia Jackson, Weronika Harandi.

Mrs Winn, Teacher of PE

U12 National Cup

Despite all odds going against the girls, the awful weather and being down 1-0 at half time, the game ended 2-2 full time. The game then went to penalties with the girls winning 3-1. Goal scorers during the game were Molly Dodd and Lois Robinson. Penalties were scored by Weronika Harandi, Molly Dodd and Alicia Jackson. Roll on round two, away to Woodlands School.

Mrs Winn, Teacher of PE