Three community ‘Stepping Up’ challenges on the key skill of ‘working
with others’ were set for Year 10 ASDAN students from 21st to 25th
June. Students worked professionally, visiting their projects the day
before to assess health and safety issues, what the job entailed and
the resources needed. They adopted specific roles such as Project
Manager, Public Relations Officer and Finance Manager to ensure
everyone made the project successful.
Group 1 designed and painted a mural on two walls of the
hydrotherapy pool room for disabled young people at the Huddleston
Centre. Group 2 also worked at the Centre, painting and decorating
wooden cut out animals to put in the garden for children with special
needs who use the Centre. Group 3 worked with a parent and toddler
group at the Lower Clapton Road Salvation Army. The toddlers were
treated to activity sessions of painting, drawing and gluing shapes with
a ‘sea’ theme. Even the parents enjoyed themselves, joining in with
songs at the end of one drop-in session!
Group 1: Safeena Begum, Preeti Bhakerd, Nuray Agcan, Jawahir Mohamed, Khadra Nur
Group 2: Hollie Clugston, Shaquillie Sizya, Freshta Jon, Nahid Rahmatzada, Shakiba Abolzadeh
Group 3: Anju Kaur, Atiqa Shabbir, Elizabeth Mancey, Jyotshna Tauckoordoyal, Fahida Khatun
July Review 2010
Website address: www.clapton.hackney.sch.uk
Clapton ReviewThe newsletter of Clapton Girls’ Technology College & Sixth Form Centre
July 2010
Message from Cheryl Day,
Headteacher
What a fantastic end of term 2010! Not only have we
celebrated the success of heaps of amazing students, but girls
have also thrown their hearts and souls into a whole range of
exciting activities. In this edition of Clapton Review you will
read about success in sport, dance, art, music, science and
mathematics, as well as hearing about sustainability, adventure,
design, Shakespeare and much, much more. Furthermore, we will have lasting
reminders of this term as the wonderful silkscreen banners, that have been
produced by both students and parents, are used to decorate the school.
I wish you all a very happy summer break and do not forget to let me know your
views on the future of Clapton Girls’ Technology College by e-mailing:
[email protected] The new Nightingale
Hall has already been
put to good use!Time to Celebrate!
Year 9 Year 11 Year 13
Year 9 officially celebrated the end of
Key Stage 3 (KS3) on 1st July with an
achievement assembly in the new
Nightingale Hall. Students were
entertained by the steel pans band,
Buky Afolabi (9L) performing a song she
had composed, and Chaimaa Elazrak
(9P) and Imani Campbell (9L) giving a
wonderful rendition of a Kings of Leon
song. The guest speaker PC Mills
encouraged students onto their next
stage of the educational journey. Each
student then made the daunting walk
across the stage to receive their end of
KS3 folder.
It was wonderful to have parents
present witnessing the amazing number
of students recognised for outstanding
achievement in their end of KS3
assessments.
On 2nd July Year 13 graduated with a
superb send off.
The Nightingale Hall was transformed
into a beautiful banqueting suite, with
DJ, dance floor and fabulous helium
balloons. Over eighty guests consisting
of staff and students attended, dressed
glamorously for the occasion. Making
full use of the wonderful weather the
evening began with a drinks reception in
the courtyard, followed by an excellent
three-course dinner and dancing into
the night.
The Year 11 Recognition event on
30th June proved Nightingale Hall to
be a wonderful venue for
celebrations. The students proudly
took the stage to collect their
Recognition folders from the Chair of
Governors, Camilla Allwood before
going to the Dining Pavilion to cut
their cakes, marking the end of Key
Stage 4.
The girls now eagerly await their
GCSE results with many hoping to
come back to study in the Sixth Form
Centre in September.
TERM DATES
Autumn Term starts
Monday 6th September
Please check the website for the
start time for each Year group
The Anna Fiorentini Theatre & Film School held an
Oscar Night at the school on 3rd July. Certificates
were presented to students who performed in the
Variety Performance at the Hackney Empire,
earlier in the year, and medals, trophies and
Oscars to students demonstrating exceptional
talent in weekly drama, singing, dance, film and
set/costume design classes. Students had
previously prepared for the event in a variety of
workshops, such as writing an acceptance speech.
Zoe Sadler, 9N used her speech when announced
as joint winner of the Voice Idol competition!
Rehearsals start in the Autumn term for the 10th
Anniversary Gala Performance at the Hackney
Empire on 2nd April 2011. Due to the partnership
with the school, Clapton GTC students can receive
discounts of 10% or 20% for places at the Theatre
and Film school. For more information please visit:
www.annafiorentini.com
A Star is born
On 21st June, four students each from
Years 7, 8 and 9 went to Queen Mary’s
College to take part in a national Maths
competition. The teams worked hard to
complete as many questions as
possible in an hour, answering
challenging Maths questions against
other schools in Hackney. While waiting
for the results to come through we went
on a quick guided tour of the college
campus. On our return to the
competition hall we heard that both the
Year 7 and Year 8 teams had come in
fourth position.
Isabella Harter and Elizabeth Diggins 7T
On 14th June we set out to Queen
Mary’s College for a Maths Taster Day.
We got an insight into what studying
Maths would be like at university. We
even experienced three full-on Maths
lectures - one enlightening us on
Mersenne Primes, narcissistic numbers
and perfect numbers, another where we
learnt how to break secret codes, and
the final amazing lecture about mobias
loops, and the extraordinary things that
are created when you cut them!
The visit included a tour of the university
by undergraduates who told us about
the Maths degrees on offer. We were
not only encouraged to do a degree but
hopefully to continue studying Maths.
Le My Dang 10L, Phoebe Ballantyne-Brown 10T, Lilian Servante 10N
Well done to students who entered the
Junior UK Maths Challenge on 29th April.
Elizabeth Diggins 7T, Milly Croft 7L,
Rommana Delair 8L and Yasmin Pilbro 8P
achieved Silver certificates. Isabella
Harter 7T, Esther Paffard 8A, Beth Foster-
Ogg 8P, Emily Zell-Huxley 8A and Kelsea
Sunu 8T achieved Bronze certificates.
M a t h sA l i v e !
Queen Mary’s College
S t e p p i n g U p
When people think of technology, they instantly associate it
with high-tech Apple Mac computers, touch screen phones
and extremely small iPods. For the past month, I have
been working with some other Year 9 students on a project
incorporating maths, science, ICT skills and art to enhance
our understanding of 2D Design, stencilling, rotation,
reflection and silk screening and also to show what the
term ‘Technology College’ actually means.
We started by using numerous images of classic designs
such as Dr Martens and the Pico desk lamp to create
stencils on 2D Design. Using these stencils, we rotated
them. We were given a word each from the
school’s vision of ‘Achieve’ which
we developed through reflection, to
create a second stencil. These were
then silk-screened onto material to
create a banner.
The banner looked great! All our
hard work and hours spent after
school came together to illustrate
the Technology specialism and
showed what can be done with the
latest technology (laser cutter).
Technology means hard work,
creativity and intelligence, not just
computers, phones and iPods.
Zoe Sadler 9N
July Review 2010 July Review 2010
As a CASP (Parent Association)
member I took part in three silk screen
workshops led by Ms Phillips and local
artist Joseph Kopiel. We met on
Saturday mornings to create a
silkscreened banner reflecting the idea
of community and communicating the
school’s ‘Technology College
specialism’. A variety of visual
resources were available illustrating the
specialism subjects of Science, Design
& Technology, Maths and ICT to kick
start our creative ideas. We made
intricate cut-out stencils to screen print
a piece of calico to keep and to use in
our CASP banner. Mono-printing and
paper tear outs were also applied as
backgrounds.
We had a blissfully relaxed time getting
to know each other, learning new skills
and refreshing forgotten ones. Most of
the group were parents who
unanimously commented on how lucky
our girls were to attend such a
stimulating and well-equipped school. It
was lovely to go to school again! I hope
there will be more opportunities to
sample the other delightful facilities my
daughter has told me about.
Nicoletta Comand, Year 7 parent
"Sessions were relaxedand well-organised with justthe right balance between
help and guidance andfreedom to workindependently.
A great break from workand family too!"
Martine Gallie, Year 8 parent and governor
S i l k s c r e e n B a n n e r s“A great Textiles studio which matched my
experience at art school!”
‘Sustainable’ Technology Day - 23rd JuneYear 7 went for a walk on the wild
side at Woburn Safari Park where
they learnt about endangered
species and how animals adapt
to their environment to avoid
predators and cope with global
warming. They got very close to
some animals!
Year 8 split into groups, some focussing on
Literacy producing magazine articles
reporting on the day’s activities, a conceptual
drama piece, silkscreened posters and
musical compositions whilst others focussed
on the classroom of the future creating a
‘Sustainability@’ interest space on the VLE
(Virtual Learning Environment) with surveys,
blogs, discussion forums and
documentation of the day.
Year 9 worked on a project with
the Design & Technology and
Science departments. Despite
the Summer heat wave they
were found enthusiastically
planting in the new flower beds
outside Rosa Parks, clearing the
lily pond and creating packaging
for the tomato plants they took
home at the end of the day.
Half of Year 10 competed in teams to create the best model
‘Sustainable Village’ identifying available goods and services,
creating a Rightmove web page, a commercial with a jingle
and other publicity to advertise houses for sale/rent in their
village. They also investigated how sustainable the school is.
The rest of Year 10 competed in a ‘Shipwrecked’ style
competition. Teams of students were dropped onto a tiny atoll
of islands to see who would have the most success rebuilding
their society with minimal resources.
End
of
Year
To compliment their business ethics
studies, ten AS Religious Education
students hosted a Fairtrade stall
selling homemade lemonade,
mango smoothies and various
Fairtrade chocolates. The girls
made some truly delicious drinks
and raised over £80 for the
Fairtrade Foundation.
Year 8 had a fantastic time at
Lambourne End outdoor centre on
2nd July. They participated in a range
of activities such as ‘Hells Holes’ and
‘Sink or Swim’ which required qualities
ranging from good balance to bravery.
Uppermost was the need to work as a
team. The girls not only enjoyed
themselves but had a useful day
developing their skills. Upon leaving,
many didn’t want to come home!
Laughter filled the coaches despite a rainy start for Year 9 on
their way to Thorpe Park for their end of Key Stage 3
celebration. Once inside the gates the fun continued with
students and staff testing how scary the rides really were!
Thankfully the sun was shining by the time students were
drenched by the ‘Tidal Wave’. Now back at school Year 9 are
already thinking about Key Stage 4 and GCSEs!
Year 10 celebrated their last reward trip together as a
Year group in Brighton on 16th July. The first stop was
the University of Sussex where students toured the
University Library and accommodation and took part in
some Aim Higher activities. Students had their eyes
opened to all sorts of weird and wonderful courses they
could go on to study like aromatherapy, welding, tree
management and newspaper design! Ending the day
with an afternoon at Brighton Pier trying out the scary
and not-so-scary rides a student from 10P said, "I
might now consider going to university in another city!"
The Year 7 residential at Caythorpe Courtwas one of the most amazing, andterrifying experiences of my life! Duringthe three days I did seven things I havenever done in my life and some I mightnever be willing to do again!
The scariest activity was the big swing!You sat in a harness with a partner and
the rest of the group pulled you up by a long rope. Then theinstructor counted down from five and you pulled on a smallrope. Neither I, nor my partner, wanted to do this so it took 37countdowns before we were sent flying! It was very scary at firstbecause there was a sudden jolt as the swing detached itself,but after that it was absolutely heavenly! Caythorpe was allround amazing; the best thing for me was falling in the lake!
Sophy Johnston 7P
Over fifty Year 10 students attended the end of
year Hackney Schools’ Mentoring Programme
Celebration on 9th June at the Guildhall Old
Library. Clapton GTC had the most students
taking part in the mentoring programme this
year and they all agreed it had been very
beneficial and made them think seriously about
life beyond school. Comments included: "We
learnt to write CVs and how to plan our time,”
“Mentoring was worth it and we plan to keep in
touch with our mentors."
Awards for Hope Fairtrade
Food
A Good Year
We were invited to the Wings of Hope achievement award
ceremony at the prestigious Wembley Stadium on 27th June as a
reward for our fundraising efforts for the charity. Throughout the
year we worked together to devise, organise and execute projects
raising awareness about education of underprivileged children in
India and Malawi. The experience improved our confidence,
communication skills and future employability.
The event was a good opportunity to explore social relationships
and responsibilities with other school students, and appreciate the
impact we can have on our communities and the environment.
Year 12 students: Nhung Le, Farhanah Rahman, Patrycja Wilkosz, Sobihia Hussain
On 6th July I went to the
Construction Crew
Graduation for 2010
students. I became part of
the Construction crew when
I was in Year 6, graduated
in 2009 and carried on into
Year 7.
The construction crew are students from the boroughs of
Hackney, Greenwich, Tower Hamlets, Newham and
Waltham Forest. We get together every few months to
visit the Olympic Park and learn important skills like
leadership, history and teamwork. We also get to watch
the Olympic stadium being built. Last year we met
Gordon Brown,
Sebastian Coe and
Jonathan Edwards. This
year we met Dame Kelly
Holmes. The experience
has been wonderful and
I hope to continue with
the project.
Khadijah Hibbert 7A
Hackney 2012 Youth Ambassadors are a group of young
people from across the five boroughs closely involved in
the next Olympic games. The programme involves
learning the history of the Olympics and Paralympics, equal
opportunities, event management, communication skills,
the get set programme and the regeneration 2010 is
bringing to east London. As an ambassador I promote
sport activities and represent Hackney in various events.
As I am doing BTEC sport, the programme is helpful for my
leadership skills.
Fatou Mbowe 10L
Being a 2012 Youth Ambassador gives me the chance to
have my say on the things I want to get out of the 2012
Games. We do a lot of community work at events like
Parks for Life and the Hackney Carnival.
Robiatu Jalloh-Cole 9P
I have been a 2012 Youth Ambassador for over 2 years
and have done lots of things, including planning events and
taking ‘personal best’ sessions in youth clubs. I have
achieved six AQA certificates, become a young leader and
will be a volunteer for the Olympics. Recently I went on a
residential weekend in Windsor, alongside ninety-nine
other young leaders from around the country. The final day
was the best as we met Dame Kelly Holmes.
Part of my role has seen me speak about my ambassador
experience in front of 230 people at the Year 6
Construction Crew graduation event . The highlight came
afterwards, being asked by a pupil for my autograph
because “you inspired me so much I would love to be just
like you when I am older”.
Kerry Morris 11A
July Review 2010 July Review 2010
On 27th May, sixteen students from Years 8
to 12 took part in the Hackney Dance
Platform at Bridge Academy. There was a
fantastic turn out from other secondary
schools in Hackney. The students worked
incredibly hard on a piece that was a mix of
Street dance, Musical Theatre and
Contemporary which won them the Award
for Best Creativity.
As a result of their success the students
were invited to perform in the Hackney
Music and Dance Festival at the Round
Chapel. They did a wonderful performance
of the piece which was admired by other
secondary and primary schools with many
compliments given. Well done!
S p o r t s D a y - 1 9 t h J u l yWe stepped out of the coaches in our PE kit at
Lee Valley Athletics Centre on Sports Day –
19th July. Filled with excitement we were all
shown to where we were going to sit and
proudly pinned our form letters to our front and
back. We knew it was going to be a joyful, yet
competitive sporty extravaganza. We were not
put in Year groups but worked together in our
groups of C, L, A, P, T, N. This gave a sense of
togetherness as students of all ages supported
others in their group making everyone feel
proud. It was great to see the school united and
everyone cheering each other on. Everyone felt
really happy as their class representative
sprinted past the finish line.
Under a scorching sun there was always
something going on, be it running or a field
event. The feeling of worry flooded into us
when we heard our event being called. At the
same time though, the pride of hearing the
cheering students drove you forward. You really
felt like a real athlete in the massive stadium,
especially when Ms Day, Headteacher
presented the winners with their medals. It was
truly a wonderful day.
Written by students from 7N and 8C
Dr Bike
Dance Space2012 Youth Ambassadors
Throughout this year, students from Years
7 to 9 have been working with dancers
from Chisenhale Dance Company to create
pieces of Contemporary, Street and Hip
Hop dance. The project has been geared
towards easing the transition between
primary and secondary schools.
Students had to think about how they felt
when they moved to Clapton GTC and any
advice they could pass on to current Year 6
pupils. They worked closely with primary
schools in the area and it culminated in a
performance of their pieces at Chisenhale
Dance space for all schools with the girls
performing fantastically well.
Dance Platform
Fourteen Year 7 and Year 8 students represented the
school at the Track Cup Competition at Mile End
Stadium on 5th July. All students did extremely well
in their individual and team events. Special
congratulations go to Sharlia Odoi (8T) who won the
Year 8 200m race, Florence Buckwell (7A) who won
the Year 7 800m race and Ikoney Hall (8P), Shade
Brown (8P), Sakinah Muhammad (8L) and Sharlia
Odoi (8T) who won the Year 8 100m relay. Both the
Year 7 and Year 8 teams finished in 3rd place.
Track CupJames Hollick Award
Le My Dang 10L has been awarded the
James Hollick Memorial award, awarded
since 1953. Le My has represented the
school in numerous events including
netball, athletics, badminton, rowing,
trampolining and swimming. She came
top of her group in the London Mini-
Marathon for Hackney under 16s this year.
She is an excellent role model for younger
students and is our leading student at
Goalball Club. Le My was nominated for
her commitment, leadership and
contribution to school sport.
A Dr Bike clinic held at
Clapton GTC on 24th
June to celebrate
National Bike Week was
a fantastic success. Over
twenty bikes belonging to
staff and students were
brought in for service and
maintenance by STA Bike
mechanics.
Construction Crew
The Science Museum came to
Clapton GTC this term and ran a
project called Science Outreach
Programme. They performed a
show called the ‘Super Cool Show’,
an exciting way of learning new
science. Amazing demonstrations
were given and they even made ice
cream in seconds. Our class was
picked to perform magic tricks and
explain the science behind them.
A month later, after lots of practice, we performed our
demonstrations of ‘the egg drop’ and ‘rising rubbish’ to Year 6
pupils from Nightingale and Rushmore. A few weeks later the
Science Museum sent the class goodie bags, including a
book called ‘Why is Snot Green?’, bubbles, a bouncy ball that
lights up and a rainbow spring.
Nuressa Khatun-Ahmed & Amani Bilal 7N
July Review 2010 July Review 2010
The Year 10 steel pans band also helped to make Southwold
primary school’s end of Year 6 celebration a successful event.
One parent commented that this was such good publicity for the
school! Four weeks before the event some of the students from
Southwold came to Clapton GTC on Saturdays to learn how to
play the steel pans. As they played ‘Carnival’ one teacher was
brought to tears as she could not believe how much they had
learnt in such a short time.
On 6th July, six Year 10 GCSE Music students performed in the
annual Hackney Schools’ Music Festival at the Round Chapel to
an audience of primary school pupils and their parents. One
primary school pupil was overheard saying, ‘Yes, I was waiting
for this!’ when it was time for Clapton GTC to perform, and our
girls did not disappoint. The six minute slot to end the show was
done with panache. The band performed ‘Crazy Little Thing
Called Love’ (Queen) and the Year 10 Steel Pans group played
‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Don’t Stop’ (Michael Jackson).
The O2 Arena buzzed with
excitement of students from
schools all around the country
ready to compete in the
Blastbeat competition on 13th
July. The event kicked off with
a performance from The Saturday’s, singing their hits Ego,
Missing You and more. After they left the stage X-Factor
contestant Stacey Solomon performed a cover of Who Wants
to Live Forever by Queen.
The excitement of seeing the celebrities died down and the
first of six amazing acts performed with amazing energy. Up
next, was 6Vi and then Kimarne and Troublez, who had
hilarious lyrics! MT-Hedz then took the stage with their
alternative rock tunes. After two more amazing bands, Soul
Fusion and Just Me Again, MT-Hedz were announced as
winners. Clapton GTC also walked away with four competition
prizes for Leadership, Multi-Media, IT and Journalism
awarded to Victory Sanu-Goodness (9P), Jessie Turner (9T),
Shahana Ali (9A) and Zoe Sadler (9N).
Zoe Sadler 9N
On 14th July the Music department hosted members of the Shen
Zen Youth brass orchestra currently touring the UK from China.
Clapton students were privileged to work alongside them,
learning to play Chinese music on western instruments then
performing the songs they had learnt to a Year 7 audience.
Clapton GalleryOver fifty Year 11 students exhibited their artwork at the
GCSE exhibition on 25th May. Exhibits ranged from
drawings and sculptures to books and performance
pieces on the themes of Metamorphosis, Identity, Work,
Rest and Play. The achievements of our student artists
and the wide variety of materials, techniques and ideas
on view impressed parents, students and staff who
visited the show. Some of the work was also showcased
at the end of term Expressive Arts Festival on 21st July.
River of
Life
Seventeen Year 8 students spent an afternoon working
with professional artists looking at flowers and greenery
to develop a large scale collaborative piece of art
focusing on the Thames as a ‘River of Life’. On
completion, the artwork will be displayed alongside work
from other London schools as part of the Thames
festival in September. The students’ work will then travel
to Turkey to be exchanged with artwork produced by
students from a school in Turkey based on their major
river, the Bosphorus in Istanbul.
Young Brits at ArtGetting through to the finals of the prestigious national
Young Brits at Art competition was a great achievement
for Rashida David-Hall (10N). Inspired by this year’s
theme of ‘art linked to a world without prejudice’ she was
shortlisted from 1,700 entries and attended the award
ceremony on 22nd June to receive a certificate and see
her artwork titled ‘Media Fatty’ displayed with other
finalists’ work. She focussed her work on the strong
message given out by the media to people of all ages
and both genders that you have to look a certain way -
extremely thin and a size 0 - the wrong message!
Musica l Youth
Blastbeat
Shen Zen
Bridge building, robot design and
seeing who could make the fastest
moving vehicle were tasks put to
twelve Year 9 students attending
the BSix Science and Technology
Challenge Day. Placed into teams
with students from five other
Hackney schools to help build
communication and team work
skills, the girls thoroughly enjoyed
the day, particularly designing and
building robots!
There were 3 challenge prizes to be won and an overall best
team trophy. Clapton GTC students were in two of the three
winning teams and were presented with winners’ plaques.
Saima Begum and Zainab Dawood (9N) were in the winning
robot team and Ruwayda Aboobaker (9N) was part of the
vehicle challenge. An additional plaque was given to the
school to show off the Science department’s success.
Thirteen Year 12 A level biology
students visited Overstrand Hall for an
ecology residential field trip 9th to 11th
July. On Saturday, despite the heat,
students went to a nearby woodland
and river habitat where they gathered
data all day and recorded findings of
their ecological sampling.
However, it was not all work as
students had the opportunity to
experience the nightline (a blindfolded
obstacle course), the climbing wall
and try out archery skills, some with
more natural talent than others!
That ’s Magic !
Robot Des ign
Natura l Habi ta ts
On 23rd June, eleven Year 8
students went to compete with six
other Hackney schools in a
Carnegie Childrens’ Book Awards
shadowing event at The Tomlinson
Centre. The competition required a
lot of creativity as we had to present
an imaginative book review on one
of the novels shortlisted for the
Carnegie Medal. We chose
‘Chains’ by the author Laurie Halse
Anderson.
Clapton GTC provided fierce competition to the other
schools and awaited the results during fascinating talks by
the writers themselves, followed by an in-depth question
and answer session. Overall, it was a brilliant and
interesting day as the students of Hackney were united by
the power of reading - the theme of the day!
Tania Ahmed 8N
Year 10 students selected for outstanding progress in
English this year enjoyed a trip to Shakespeare’s Globe
Theatre on 12th June. Macbeth was one of this year’s
coursework tasks and it was an excellent opportunity to see
such a remarkable and inventive production. The students
took part with great enthusiasm when the audience were
invited to cover themselves with a black cloth to create a
‘Sea of Souls’ to recreate the underworld alluded to in the
play. They proved to be a lively and essential part of an
amazing night.
Chains
Macbeth
After taking part in the Jack Petchey Speak Out public
speaking training in the Autumn Term, Asyma Raheel
(10L) and Rehana Shaikh (10C) were named as
finalists and represented the school in the regional
final at Cardinal Pole School. Asyma spoke eloquently
and humorously on the subject of gender equality and
Rehana gave an emotive and heartfelt speech on the
topic of euthanasia. Both girls gave superb
performances to a packed crowd and were desperately
unlucky not to come home with a prize.