The Coopers’ Company and Coborn School Record
The Coopers’ Company and Coborn School has endured throughout various times of upheaval, and we will continue to flourish during these currently very challenging times.
Double Edition 2018 / 2020
Contents
From the Headteacher School Captains Department News: • Art • Computing and ICT • Drama • English and Media • Humanities • Mathematics • Modern Languages • Music • Physical Education • Politics, Psychology and Sociology • Science • Technology Exams Results The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Career Destinations and Degree Courses The Worshipful Company of Coopers Bursaries Salvete Valete News of Former Students and Staff
The Jack Petchey Award Scheme
Semper Fidelis In Memory of…...
From the Headteacher
Welcome to this double edition of the Coopers’ Coborn Record, 2018 – 2020. We have been unable to publish two separate annual editions due to disruption caused by the Covid-19 virus.
In the true spirit of ‘Love as Brethren’ at Christmas 2018 the school was involved in a host of charity activities. As well as raising money for good causes, students collected goods to be placed in Christmas hampers, which were then distributed to grantees of The Coopers’ Company.
We thank our Year 11 students, who once again hosted the annual Christmas ‘Bow Parties’ for visually impaired students from the Joseph Clarke School. As I mentioned in my 2018 Prizegiving speech, any definition of a successful life must include serving others. The concept of serving others is vital to us as a school – it is part of the character and culture of our organisation - and I truly believe that our charity work is the perfect embodiment of this concept.
The Prizegivings were a huge success, and I want to thank the staff, parents, Governors, guests and The Worshipful Company of Coopers for their hard work in preparing for the ceremonies, and their participation during them, as well as their unrelenting support of the school.
Our Guest Speaker for the Lower and Upper School Prizegivings, held during the day, was past student Daniel Schofield who left in 2005 to study Economics and Mathematics at the University of York. As well as being the treasurer and social secretary of the tennis club (with whom he reached national finals and coached local schools), he was also involved with his college committee and even took part in a charity hitchhike to Morocco! After graduating in 2008, he became a financial services professional in the City of London, spending eight years with the American investment bank J.P. Morgan, before joining Aviva Investors. Daniel is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment and is on their exam board, writing questions for the highest level Diploma paper. Daniel still lives locally, is married with a young daughter and a team captain at Cranston Park LTC.
In the evening ceremony, the Guest Speaker was Dr Paul Kelly, an ‘old boy’ of the school. He gave a fascinating talk, outlining his career path and the lessons he had learned along the way. Being a doctor, Dr Kelly was a huge draw for many of our students, and he had a queue of prospective medics wanting to seek his advice at the end of the evening! It is always so humbling to see the amazing things our students achieve, and how successful they are. The ceremonies are not just a celebration of academic excellence; they are also a showcase for the array of talents our students possess. Our students are inspirational in every sense of the word.
2020 has so far certainly been an unprecedented year for everyone everywhere, and here at school it became all the more difficult as we lost two very dear past Headmasters. Although Dr David Parry had been unwell, his passing in February 2020 was still completely sudden and unexpected. David joined our school in 2002 and very soon became Head of English. He was Deputy Head from 2005-2013 (with a spell as Acting Head in 2007) and finally Headteacher from 2013 to 2018. David was a brilliantly funny, kind and caring man, a perfect gentleman who opened minds, inspired dreams, built confidence and shone a light on the path towards a great life.
Just a few short months later in May 2020 Mr John French sadly passed away. John was Headmaster at The Coopers' Company's School for Boys in Bow from 1969-71, and then moved (initially with Years 7/8) to our current site in Upminster, where he remained as Headmaster until 1990. Chair of School Governors, John Fahy, remembers that he was appointed at a young age, was well known for being full of life, with a strong character. He was also an active and highly respected Liveryman of The Coopers' Company. John will always be fondly remembered here at school and his time as Headmaster was particularly eventful since he led the school at both Bow and Upminster, which was obviously a pivotal point in our school's rich history.
Key highlights during my first two years as Head of this outstanding school have included the award of the Painter-Stainers’ annual school art prize to one of our students, in recognition of their success and commitment to art. This is an especially pleasing prize for us as it strengthens our relationship with the livery companies in the City of London. As a school, we are extremely proud of our school athletics team, who as winners of the National Schools Competition, have twice been invited to represent England in the World Schools’ Championships. Unfortunately, they were unable to travel during the pandemic.
I could not finish without mentioning the pandemic which has affected all areas of all of our lives, throughout 2020. Despite the major disruption, the school continued to deliver an exceptional education for all of our community. The Coopers’ Company and Coborn School has endured throughout various times of upheaval, and we will continue to flourish during these currently very challenging times.
Best wishes to you all.
Ms S. Hay, Headteacher
School Captains
School Captains 2018 – 2019
th School 6 Form Games Music S.T.E.M. Captains Captains Captains Captains Captains
Isabella Purdie Jacob Fortune Rebecca Francesca Luke Bacchus Alex Orton Brown Harley Stranders Whittlestone
Vice Isoken Vice Oscar Eastman Michael Captains Osunde Captains Watkins
Abidemi Christiana Bethan Matthew Hale Davina Adeshina Onafeko Isherwood Kwateng
Isobel Anna Davis Tom Keevil Teerna Joel McDonach Mukherjee Bastiampillai
Isobel Martin Tom Carter Nathan Meskell Mary Doherty Daniel Airen
Robin Newby Isti Ahmed Katie Mitchell Dante Coates Callum Hughes
Henry Fisher Max Prior
Harry Sophie Smith Ferguson
School Captains 2019 – 2020
th School 6 Form Games Music Captains Captains Captains Captains
Stephen McLoughlin Charlotte Fransham Tayla Bunting Emilie Cheung Jessica Smith Daniel Hawkes
Vice Captains Maxwell Camp Vice Captains Pemmy Canova
Nathan Boachie Rosie Gospage Alex Dubar Rohan Dave
Manisha Kaur Zak Mackay Flick Galbally Charlotte Smith
Eloise Dietz Favour Rosanwo George Hill
Jacob Smith David Sangojinmi
Lorinda Sokoli Lucia James
George Thomas Harry Jones
Esther Udoh Francesca Thomas
Art
Congratulations to Louise Harrington for her winning entry in the school Christmas Card competition for her delightful and festive depiction of the school crest and for cleverly re-designing the camels into reindeers!
A Level Art Trip to Amsterdam This year’s A level Art trip saw the students visit Amsterdam. Seventeen students and staff enjoyed the Hermitage Museum, a branch of the famous museum in St Petersburg. It is located in the former Amstelhof, a classic style building from 1681. After looking at the wide range of work there, the students walked to the Bloemenmarkt, the floating flower market, and then on to the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam’s oldest building and parish church, founded circa 1213 and consecrated in 1306. The last stop before dinner at Café Restaurant Orff was to see Rembrandt’s House. The following day a visit to the Van Gogh Museum was a highlight of the tour, as was the visit to the Rijksmuseum. So much art to see! The impressive and vast Rijksmuseum houses Dutch art from the middle ages to the present day and the much more futuristic looking Stedelijk Museum is where to see the modern art. A canal trip to see yet more sights and learn about Amsterdam’s rich history and culture was a wonderful way to finish the weekend.
National Portrait and Tate Modern Trip In addition to the Amsterdam trip the Year 10s visited the National Portrait Gallery and Year 11s the Tate Modern at the beginning of February. Both trips were crucial to enriching current schemes of learning and a great opportunity for students to appreciate and record artwork first hand.
Royal Academy Outreach Day The A Level students had another fantastic experience in November with Royal Academician Jeanette Barnes, who came in and ran a day’s life drawing workshop with the Year 12s. All students benefited from Jeanette’s enthusiasm and passion for looking, recording and mark making.
Achievements
During this academic year there have been some remarkable achievements in the art department: Havering Young Artist: Weimin Li, now Year 13 won gold for his age category for this portrait. Emily Cooper also won gold for this Wayne Thiebaud inspired painting,
The Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers awards an annual school’s art prize of £100 to a pupils in London and the South East. The winner of the prize money is used to buy an art book and art materials. This year the prestigious award went to Joanna Marimon for this portrait painting. At the awards ceremony Joanna’s painting was displayed alongside the work of twenty-five other students from different schools. This award could be a stepping stone to the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize, which was created in 2005 by the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers, set up to encourage the very best creative representational painting and promote the skill of draughtsmanship. With prize money totalling £35,000, the Prize is one of the most prestigious awards to artists in the UK.
Alice in Wonderland Mr Kilburn has wasted no time getting involved in some cross curricular projects, the most recent being set design for the school production of Alice in Wonderland. He enlisted the help of some KS3 pupils and the props looked amazing.
A showcase of A Level and GCSE students’ work
2019 – 2020
As in previous years a lower school Christmas Card competition was held to design the annual school card. Selecting a winner is always difficult and this year was no exception. After much deliberation, Alexandra Hopkins in 8.7 was voted the winner and her drawing was sent to the printers and made into our school Christmas cards.
Year 9 Art Club continued successfully, giving students the opportunity to display their skills and work collaboratively with similar minded pupils. They worked for a few weeks on making stencils to be used for silk screen printing. The product of their efforts can be seen below - lovely Tote bags printed with silk screen paint.
Visit to Tate Modern
In January and February students from years 10 and 11 visited this gallery as part of their studies and preparation for their 10 hour art GCSE examination. This provided them with a great opportunity to sketch first hand from direct observation.
The Painter-Stainers’ Award
Congratulations to Beth Wood in year 13, who was awarded the prestigious Painter-Stainers' prize for 2020. Beth was invited to the Painter-Stainers' Guild for a presentation evening, where she was rewarded for her success.
Computing - ICT
CyberFirst Girls During January, twenty-four Year 8 girls took part in the week-long Cyberfirst Girls Competition run by the National Cyber Security Centre (a part of GCHQ). Only 11% of the global cyber workforce is made of women, so the ultimate aim of the competition is to inspire girls into a career in cyber security. The girls worked in teams of four, during lessons, at lunchtime and after school, to solve a variety of challenges. As a result of their participation in the CyberFirst Girls Competition all the girls were invited to apply for a free place on specially commissioned, four-day CyberFirst Girls Defenders courses. Booking was first come, first served and six of our students (Molly Gulvin, Phoebe Day, Faith Aseniyi, Serena Hand, Zoe Corbett and Freya Long) were lucky enough to secure places. They spent the last four days of the spring term at the University of Kent in Canterbury having a great time, learning a lot about cybersecurity and thoroughly enjoying the whole experience.
Year 9 Functional Skills After working hard all year, Year 9 students took their ICT Functional Skills exam in the summer. The students then started working on IDEA, digital awards (bronze, silver and gold). Congratulations to Hani Singha who completed her bronze award in record time and received her certificate. One of the benefits of this scheme is that once begun, this award can be worked on independently by students at home.
Year 8 Activities On Thursday 11 July eleven Year 8 students visited the law firm Field Fisher to find out more about careers in technology. They heard from speakers on topics such as rocket science and cyber security.
Another group consisting of twelve year 8 girls visited the Ford Motor Company and were involved in the development of an App, which they will present at the Ford IT Girls Day in November.
Year 9 – Computer Science Masterclasses Over September and October a group of five year 9 students attended a series of Saturday Computer Science Masterclasses at Queen Mary University. Each week the students explored a different aspect of the subject, which included social networks, robotics and algorithms.
Year 12 – Computer Science in Action Conference In November year 12 Computer Science students attended a Conference hosted at the Emmanuel Centre in London. Several talks were given by leading experts in their various fields, who included representatives from IBM and Queen Mary University. The topics discussed covered artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and digital forensics.
2019 – 2020
The CyberFirst Girls Competition
In November a group of year 8 and 9 girls joined more than eighty students from around the country at Fieldfisher law firm in London on a CyberFirst Conference looking at careers in technology. T he girls heard from speakers from the Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Unit, GCHQ, Oracle, European Astrotech, The National Museum of Computing and the Chief Technology Officer at Number 10. In January twenty-seven year 8 girls competed in The CyberFirst Girls Competition run by the National Cyber Security Centre. The competition is a team event with each team being made up of four girls. As
well as spending one lesson a day working on the competition, the girls were also voluntarily working on it at lunchtime and after school. The aim of the competition is to provide an exciting and challenging environment to inspire the next generation of young women to consider a career in cyber security. Our students demonstrated great dedication, resilience and initiative in solving the puzzles and were definitely enthused by the competition.
Year 9 iDEA Competition
Students were engaged in our home learning project – Congratulations to Sunny and Amelia on achieving their Silver certificate, and also to Charles, Daniel, Ethan, Phoebe, Isobel, Amelia, Lily, Luis and Catherine for gaining their Bronze iDEA certificate. We were truly impressed by all the Year 9 students who continued to work on iDEA in addition to their GCSE subject lessons. These achievements are due to determined and diligent effort on the part of the students and we are delighted by their success.
Drama
Drama clubs continued to be well supported this year with opportunities for everyone to be involved.
Bowles – Year 7 Once again during the Autumn Term all Year 7 students enjoyed the experience of a residential trip to Bowles Outdoor Education Centre near Tunbridge Wells. Being able to work for an extended period without ‘school bells’ was a wonderful chance to explore the theme ‘Ghost stories’. It was amazing to see how well the students engaged in their productions, and indulged their creative pieces.
School Production This year’s production of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was a tremendous success. ‘Alice’ was an enormous undertaking, involving months of planning, acting, singing and dancing rehearsals. Almost everything was the work of a current or former student or member of staff, which involved creating the set, the props and costumes. Students and staff working together in this way was an unforgettable experience that created memories which will last long after the applause of the audience died away. Collaboration with colleagues was a real pleasure: the Art Department put together a crack team of set and prop makers; Mrs Larke in the Finance Office scoured the charity shops of Upminster for many pieces of costume; and several former students supported the production - Dylan
Hayden was responsible for all the music and sound effects, Charlie Mann for lighting and stage effects, and finally Esther Cox helped with pretty much everything.
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
The Year 11 and Year 13 students enjoyed a trip to see this interesting play in London’s West End. A 2003 mystery novel by British writer Mark Haddon, adapted for stage by Simon Stephens, it is an artfully conceived and skilfully manifested adaptation, which remains “loyal” to the book. The narrative and dialogue have been imported wholesale and given theatrical dress-ups. There is a strong current of sentimentality that makes this very much a story for those on the outside looking in.
2019 – 2020
Drama Clubs
At the start of the school year Drama clubs were well attended, giving students the opportunity to take on and develop small roles in mini productions. ‘Theatre Thursdays’ proved very popular giving students the opportunity to watch filmed theatre productions. During the Autumn Term ‘The Railway Children’, ‘Cats’ and ‘The Tempest’ were especially enjoyable.
Christmas Pantos
Year 12 drama students busily prepared for the Christmas Pantos, ‘Hansel and Gretel’ and ‘Cinderella’, which they performed not only for Coopers’ students but also the local community.
Theatre Visits
Years 10 and 11 students visited the Orchard Theatre in Dartford to watch ‘Blood Brothers’.
School Production – The Addams Family Auditions took place before Christmas for this year’s school production. More than fifty students from across all years were interested in being a member of the cast. Rehearsals were as always a busy time, with student getting to grips with their roles. Unfortunately, much to everyone’s disappointment, this was all brought to a halt in March, when the country went into lockdown.
English and Media
Screen Your Story Students were invited to submit their work as part of a national story-writing competition run by alumna Dr Anne Mullins. Once the finalists were selected their stories were published and made into short films. Molly Gulvin in year 8 was a finalist and her story was read at Barnes Children’s Literature Festival. She is now a published and illustrated author!
A Level news Sixty A Level students went to see Caryl Churchill’s play ‘Top Girls’ at the National Theatre. ‘Top Girls’ is an English Literature set text, and rarely performed at notable theatres in the UK, so this was a special opportunity for students to further engage with the content and extend their understanding and appreciation of this modern drama.
In the summer term there were four writing workshops for Key Stage 5 students which took them through some of the writing skills needed to plot, structure and write a novel. The sessions were a success and it is hoped to run them again next year.
Jack Petchey Challenge A group of Year 10 students took part in the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge, with year 10’s Joanne Geraldo representing the school at the Havering Final at St Edward’s Academy. Her speech dealt with fears we all face and a message about overcoming them to make ourselves stronger and better.
Writing Workshops During the course of the year workshops were held in creative writing: a four week workshop for KS5 students on writing a commercial novel. Six students and two staff attended sessions on plot structure, characterisation, developing your voice and perfect prose.
A creative writing workshop with a company called Kazzum Arts was held, with a focus on Refugee Week 17-23 June. A group of Year 9 and 10 students wrote poetry with work being read out by Maddie Parker, Isobel Bramwell, Chris Brown, Safa Faheem, Jasmine Elworthy and Alyssa Reeves - who even read some of her poem in Persian! Here is an extract from Jasmine’s poem:
Beep Beep Black Sheep
I see him – a hurdle in flesh As he enters with eyes gleaming red With the little girl he’s calling back Who trips on your burqa in black I can feel the film unwinding and You can say nothing, do nothing Mousetrap-tongue Caught on razor wire Your lungs your ID papers, Folded up WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING The inflection a mother’s scream As she tells the children to ‘get back inside! They wouldn’t come on Ramadan, They wouldn’t dare’ WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING Every vowel the blast of a shell As it hits you, you burn but still do not move My heart hammering him off to hell WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE – ‘oh give it a rest will ya?’ My own voice foreign, estranged I tremble as he squirms away His hand on his daughter’s wrist Like a shackle, as if there’s a risk Of you going off A bomb This sick world will never see That you, who crossed the sea Who has done nothing but suffer Deserves this land more than me.
A Winter Creative Writing Competition was also held where students were asked to write a short story using a winter-themed poem as a prompt. Samuel Woodgate won the KS4 prize and Chris Brown won the KS3 prize.
National Short Story Competition BBC Radio 2 500 Words Competition is a national short story competition which attracts thousands of entries each year. Eva Paget in Year 8 made it through to the second round with her darkly comic short story with a surprising twist!
Media 2019 – 2020
Students from years 10 and 12 attended this year’s Media Studies seminars and workshops at the Disneyland Paris resort in February.
Humanities
The Humanities Faculty consists of three departments: Geography, History and Religious Education, under the direction of Mrs Edwards, Miss Wood, Mr Barrington and Miss Evans.
Geography
It was a busy first term and end to 2018. All the geographers were very active both in class and at home. The year 7s designed flags representing the unique and extreme characteristics of Antarctica. Madeline Hann, an Antarctic scientist, took these with her on her summer expedition as part of the Homeward Bound Project on the Antarctic Peninsula.
The Year 8s designed rainforest games, while the Year 9s were busy designing model volcanoes as well as exploding them.
During the Spring Term Mr Abadin ran a competition challenging the student to design a new praise postcard for the department, which was representative of the department and school ethos, focusing on what makes an exceptional geographer. There were two outstanding entries, and it was decided to use both postcards within the department. Many congratulations to Louise Harrington and Amelia Ngooi.
Year 9 Trip to Margam Park, South Wales In June sixty year 9 students embarked on the annual residential geography trip, this year to South Wales. Students worked on understanding the importance and usefulness of field sketches in geographical investigations in the classroom, in particular studying V- shaped valleys of the area of Margam Park. A trip to Cardiff Bay studying its history and recent urban regeneration was enjoyed by all. On their return to the field centre students set small mammal traps, which they revisited the next morning in order to establish numbers and species living in the park. The final day tested the students’ endurance with a 7.5 km trek along the river, where they calculated various river measurements such as velocity, width and bedload size, enhancing understanding of how a river changes as it goes downstream.
Year 11 Trip to Iceland During February half term, the Geography department ran its annual GCSE trip to Iceland. The students explored the awe-inspiring natural landscape and the diverse culture of Iceland that has been shaped through the country’s relationship with natural processes. A busy day was had exploring the golden circle, a tectonically active area in southwest Iceland. One of the stops during the day included the mighty Gullfoss waterfall. As the photos show, a snowy, cold and windy day. There were plenty of opportunities to see the sights and sounds of Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital. This included a visit to Hallgrimskirkja, which is the church at the centre of Reykjavik. It is an impressive piece of architecture and the front of the church is designed to represent the basalt columns of Vik, which was another stop on the trip. The students also visited a variety of different coastal landscapes as they travelled further along the south coast, and were fortunate enough to see some seals enjoying a well earned rest on the rocky shores of Iceland’s south coast. Iceland may be famous for its airline disrupting ash clouds. However, it is the way in which technology has been used to remove Iceland’s dependence on fossil fuels which is even more impressive. On the last day of the trip a visit was arranged to one of the geothermal power plants to see how homes and businesses are powered by the physical processes occurring inside the earth’s crust. The trip would no t have been complete without indulging in some more Icelandic traditions. There were plenty of opportunities to go for a relaxing swim in the geothermal waters.
Year 12 Trip to Pembrokeshire As part of their A Level course the year 12 geographers travelled to Pembrokeshire. They had to plan and carry out an investigation of their choice to look at how physical geography (coastal) or human geography (tourism) impacted the town of Tenby. Over the course of the trip, students learnt valuable skills that they could use for their studies. One of the many benefits was learning how to create an appropriate question and plan and conduct an investigation using and analysing statistical testing.
History
Year 11 GCSE History Trip to Berlin In order to deepen students’ understanding of Weimar and Nazi Germany and the Cold War, GCSE History students spent four days in the fascinating and lively city of Berlin. During their stay they visited famous sites such as the Olympic Stadium (venue for the 1936 Olympic Games), The Stasi Museum (formerly home of the Ministry of State Security where political prisoners were kept by the East German Secret Police), the Berlin Wall Memorial (commemorating how the city was divided 1961-89 and the people who died trying to escape to the West), Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and the Cecilienhof Palace where the Potsdam Conference was held at the end of the Second World War. Students also enjoyed a day’s guided walking tour of the city, as well as an evening of ten-pin bowling and a visit to the viewing platform of the Berlin TV Tower.
Year 10 GCSE History Trip to Whitechapel – Jack the Ripper Tour In June students from Year 10 were able to enjoy a sunny afternoon in East London whilst learning about a dark chapter in the history of Whitechapel. Five GCSE classes were taken around the murder sites of Jack the Ripper’s victims by professional guides. They learnt about living conditions, policing techniques, the role of the press and the murders themselves, which all took place in 1888. These are all issues which are covered in the GCSE historic environment module about Whitechapel. It was a very successful afternoon and the students were impressed by the knowledge of their guides.
Year 9 History Trip to the battlefields of the Somme In a change from our usual destination of Ypres, the history department accompanied 120 students on two day trips in October to sites associated with the Battle of the Somme in France. Following a very early start in the morning, staff and students were taken by coach and Le Shuttle, with a team of expert guides to help explain key points along the way. We were able to visit the grave of a former student of the school, Sydney Starling, and see the names of others recorded on the famous Thiepval memorial, as well as visiting the graves of some of the relatives of some of our current students who died in the First World War. Sydney Starling signed up in October 1914 and served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from July 1915, and died from wounds received in battle in a Casualty Clearing Station in September 1916.
We also visited famous locations of the battle such as Sunken Lane and The Hawthorn Ridge Crater, as well as the area now preserved as the Newfoundland Memorial Park. At the end of the day, a wreath was laid at the Cross of Sacrifice by the Thiepval memorial to remember the sacrifices made during the war.
Year 12 visit to the Cabinet War Rooms To enhance their A level studies on the Second World War the Year 12 students visited the Cabinet War Rooms in London. History was made in the Churchill War rooms – the underground nerve centre that allowed Britain’s leaders to plot the allied route to victory during WWII. Students were able to closely view the artefacts revealing Churchill’s personal and political journey in the interactive Churchill Museum, which uncovers the influences and pressures that shaped his life, leadership and legacy.
Religious Studies
In November our Year 8 Students visited the London Central Mosque near Regent’s Park. Students were fortunate enough to not only see the prayer hall and the different features in it, as studied in the classroom, but were able to witness the Zuhr prayer (prayer just before midday). Our tour guide described the significance behind each of the mosque’s facilities and explained key Muslim beliefs. Students were especially happy to receive the mosque’s hospitality at lunch time where large portions of lovely food were served. The day ended with a Q&A session where students really gained an insight into the Muslim faith and how the mosque plays a central role within the local community.
The Year 9 students enjoyed visiting the Kagyu Samye Dzong London Tibetan Buddhist Centre in Bermondsey, which enhanced their curriculum studies in this interesting religion. The Kagyu lineage is one of the four main traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. It is a complete form of Buddhism including all three levels of the Buddha’s teaching: Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana. The main function of the centre is to provide a place for meditation and teaching on Tibetan Buddhism within the Kagyu Tradition. Other activities include Yoga, Tai Chi, martial arts, Parkour dancing, mindfulness training and meditation.
Year 9 students were also involved in the Holocaust Education Day, supported by University College London. Susie Barnett, a holocaust survivor, gave an emotional talk, followed by an interesting Q & A session.
Philosophy Club has been well attended throughout the year, and the Year 12 Philosophy Conference and the Religion and Violence/Peace Conference run by Lancaster University at Highgate School provided further enrichment opportunities for the students.
2019 – 2020
Plans for this year across all three departments were disrupted by the pandemic. However, the Geography department were able to run their annual year 11 trip to Iceland. Unfortunately, due to severe weather, most roads were closed and the planned itinerary had to be adapted. The students still managed to complete their field studies and enjoy this exhilarating landscape of fire and ice.
The A Level History students visited Paris in March to gain a more in depth understanding of French history. The trip to Versailles proved once again to be a highlight of the tour.
The annual pilgrimage for year 9 students is to pay respects and learn more about the battlefields of the First World War. This year’s trip which took place in October was to the Somme battlefields in France. Amongst the many memorials and trenches they visited the trip took in the grave of former student Sydney Starling who lost his life on 21 September 1916, aged 20. He died of wounds received in battle and is buried in Grove Town British Cemetery.
Mathematics
Year 9 Docklands Aviation Experience Year 9 visited the Docklands Aviation Experience during Activities Week in July, when students were given an interactive talk about the design of aircraft engines. They learned about the science of flight, and how research is helping to reduce the negative environmental effects of air travel. As part of their visit to the Aviation Experience, all students had the opportunity to use the flight simulators. Although they enjoyed learning about the instruments in the cockpits, they were particularly excited when taking off and landing, while sometimes battling adverse weather conditions.
Year 12 Maths In Action Trip In December, our year 12 Further Maths students headed to London's Emmanuel Centre for a day of inspirational talks about the application of mathematics in various fields. The sessions covered a diversity of topics such as the use of differential equations in fig hting antibiotic resistance, topology in video games, and the truth behind the misleading statistics used by politicians and tobacco companies. One very valuable a session focused on exam technique. All in all a great day, which has given our Year 12 mathematicians an insight into the myriad uses of mathematics in various different STEM careers.
Competitions Grace Shi and Stephanie Twum participated in the Mathematical Olympiad for Girls at national level. In November, four year 12 and 13 students took part in the Regional Final of the Senior Team Maths Challenge. In March four students from years 8 and 9 represented the school at the Regional Final of the Team Maths Challenge held at Bancroft’s School. They enjoyed the day and acquitted themselves well. Throughout the year students across all years have taken part in the UKMT Maths Challenges, winning a variety of Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. This competition is designed to encourage mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems. Students worthy of mention are George Tan, David Sangojinmi, James Talbot, Luke Peckett, Matthew Bright, and Nemsung Rai. They qualified for the next round, placing them in the top 10% of entrants in the country. James Talbot and Matthew Bright also participated in the First Round of the British Mathematical Olympiad.
MFL
Unfortunately the trips planned for 2020 were unable to take place due to the pandemic.
French
In July the year 8 linguists had their first residential language trip to Paris. Their itinerary included a guided tour of the Stade de France, a trip to the Trocadero, where they enjoyed a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower, and panoramic view of Paris from the top of the Montparnasse Tower.
+3
The trip proved to be an excellent opportunity for students to practise first hand their newly acquired language skills and to gain some good cultural experiences and appreciate the gastronomic delights of this region of France.
German
Exchange to Rheinbach June 2019 At 5.30am on Tuesday 18 June fifteen very nervous, excited and brave Year 10 students started their return journey to Rheinbach (near Bonn and Köln) to spend one week living with their German exchange partners and their families. They were met with hugs at the school bus stop. The week was filled with shopping trips to Bonn and Cologne, visits to the beautiful cathedrals in Cologne and Aachen, experience of German lessons, sampling lots of German food, practising of German in ‘real life situations’ and swimming in the impressive pool in Rheinbach (on one day it reached 36°). At the weekend the German families organised extra visits, but most students also made it to the theme park, Phantasialand. When they left on Tuesday afternoon there were fond farewells, but also plans to meet up again in the summer holidays, as the friends said goodbye. “The exchange was amazing! I have met many new friends, who I would love to keep in contact with. We got to go to Phantasialand (the massive theme park), Bonn, Cologne, a chocolate museum and on lots of other fun trips. I am going to miss it loads!” Francesca Montefusco (Year 10)
Year 8 Language to the Rheinland Trip July 2019
The year 8 German trip to the Rheinland involved visits to Burg Eltz, a fairytale castle set high above the wooded valley with 850 years of history. Time out included an evening swim in Boppard, the pearl of the Rhine. The students also enjoyed visiting Rudesheim where they were enchanted by the Musikkabinett, an original and fascinating collection of self-playing musical instruments. Phantasialand Theme Park is always a great hit with its thrill rides and opportunity to relax. A highlight of the trip was some free time in Cochem, a perfectly preserved medieval town, and the chance to practise developing language skills.
Spanish
In November the Spanish Department welcomed the Onatti Theatre group. years 9 and 10 Spanish students and Drama students joined forces to enjoy a performance in Spanish by this entertaining theatre group. Two students even volunteered to join in.
Visit to Spanish Restaurant Over two evenings in April and May the department organised visits to the Spanish restaurant La Fabrica in Crouch End. Seventy-five students enjoyed the experience of using their Spanish to order tapas in this exciting new venture.
The Spanish Exchange with Escola Rosalia de Castro, Vigo The year 10 Spanish Exchange students had a wonderful trip to Vigo in May. They spent one day with the students from Rosalia de Castro on a boat trip to Cangas; they followed the Ruta Masso to see a Factory owned by a Nazi Collaborator. During the week they also worked as English Language assistants in their partner school, and spent time with their exchange students visiting different towns.
Year 8 Trip to Tossa de Mar The year 8 linguists enjoyed their first residential language trip to Spain in July. Amongst the many opportunities they had to practise their newly- acquired language skills was a trip to the local market and a day trip to Barcelona where they visited Gaudi’s Parc Guell and Las Ramblas.
Music
In November, Big Band provided the entrance and exit music for the Sports Presentation Evening, performing Friends Like Me, Lady Marmalade and Maniac.
The lead up to Christmas is always a busy time for the Music department, and in early December the students hosted their annual Christmas Concerts, featuring performances by the Palmer Orchestra, the Big Band, the Junior Choir, Wind Quartet, Symphonic Wind Band, Senior Choir, Senior Jazz Band, Brass Band, Gibson Orchestra and Year 7 Singers. They were joined by the Rheinbach School Choir and Orchestra who travelled all the way from Germany to tour the country. The audience enjoyed a variety of performances including Crazy In Love, A Million Dreams, Harry Potter, Fix You and Radioactive as well as several festive favourites such as Sleigh Ride, It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. Both concerts were very well attended, with one audience member commenting: “What an amazing, eclectic evening … we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and could listen to it all over again.” Special thanks to Oscar Eastman for his fantastic compering and interesting facts.
Christmas doesn’t end there—the Choirs also performed at the St Laurence Carol Service on 12th December and the St Botolph’s Service on 18th December, and the Symphonic Wind Band showcased their talents at Prizegiving.
Anjeli Valydon, Year 10, performed in the 40th Anniversary National Children’s Orchestra Winter Concert in December at The Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank. Anjeli played the 2nd bassoon and performed Festive Overture by Shostakovich, Peter Grimes by Britten and La Mer by Debussy, as well as accompanying former BBC Young Musician of the Year Nicola Benedetti who performed Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2.
We were delighted to hear that Thomas Warner in Year 9 was offered a place in the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain.
2019 – 2020
During February the annual school Music Festival was held. Entries were as usual outstanding. The Finals night was highly competitive with the following winners:
Young Musician of the Year 2020 – Amie Rowe Junior Young Musician of the Year 2020 – James Milner The Jan Bristow Rising Star – Chloe Kelly The Johanne Mann Cup – Molly Gulvin
Physical Education
Over the year there have been an amazing 977 fixtures in eighteen sports involving 682 students 10,451 student representations over 37 very successful weeks! Current accolades are as follows: • National Schools Cross-Country Champions – Intermediate Girls • National Schools Athletics Champions – Intermediate Girls, for 3rd successive year • National Biathlon Champions – Under 17 Boys • National Tennis Finalists – Under 19 Boys • National Badminton Finalists – Under 14 Boys
World Schools’ Athletics Championships - Croatia Following the school’s success in winning both age groups of the National Schools’ Athletics Championships, the girls’ team was selected to represent England at this event. Each athlete had to take part in 2 events from different categories. The top nine scores from the twelve events were added up to give the overall score, finishing with a relay. The results were as follows: Jess Smith (captain): 100m Hurdles - 12th in the World High Jump - 12th in the World Abbie Ives: 1500m - WORLD CHAMPION!!!! Long Jump – personal best Lola Kuponiyi Shot Putt - 4th in the World High Jump - joint 17th in the World Sydney Foley: 1500m - 4th in the World Discus – personal best Alice Brown 400m - 3rd in the World High Jump - joint 17th in the World Natalie Sewell 1500m - 5th in the World Javelin – personal best The Medley Relay 6th in the World Final Result 6th in the World
The whole event was live streamed and it was fantastic to hear so many students and staff watched the races either live or retrospectively. The girls spent 6 days in Croatia and experienced walking behind the England flag at an Opening Ceremony like the Olympics, meeting Croatia and athletics dignitaries, being interviewed by journalists, country dancing in front of hundreds of people, making friends with athletes from all over the world amongst many other amazing experiences.
Students enjoying warm weather training for the athletics season in Lanzarote
Sports Day
Once again Sports Day was an exciting finale to the school year, with Ratcliffe winning the day.
2019 – 2020
CCCS is the Number One State School for Sport in England for 2019 In another outstanding year the school was once again, for the third time in four years, ranked as the number one state school for sport in the country. This amazing accolade was due to the incredible success of the school's sports teams in national level competitions across 2018-2019. Highlights included: 1 World Final (Girls athletics team - 6th in the WORLD) 4 National Titles (U19 Boys Gymnastics, Inter Girls Cross Country, U17 Boys Biathlon & Inter Girls Athletics) 33 National Final Teams (Athletics, Badminton, Biathlon, Cross Country, Gymnastics, Hockey, Swimming & Tennis) 977 Fixtures and 10,000 Student Representations underpinning this national achievement.
Sadly, because of the national lockdown, students who had qualified for the National Biathlon finals and the World Cross-Country Finals were unable to compete, and the athletics season did not even start. During lockdown the P.E. department held a virtual Sports Week for Key Stage 3 students, with lots of daily challenges to help them keep fit and active.
Politics, Psychology and
Sociology
Politics
The Year 12 Politics students visited the Houses of Parliament, where they were given a tour of the buildings, took part in a workshop including an interactive session on making Laws, and had the opportunity to pose questions to the local Member of Parliament. The students also enjoyed a trip to Westminster Hall, where they took part in “Politics Question Time”, with a number of MPs, including the Speaker John Bercow, Hilary Benn, Labour, Jacob Rees- Mogg, Conservative, Douglas Carswell, former UKIP, and Angus Robertson, SNP.
Psychology
The study of Psychology is about human behaviour; why we behave the way we do and the different influences that affect us. Students explore the approaches that form the basis of psychological understanding and then apply these to topics and behaviours like addictions and phobias. The subject however isn’t just limited to the classroom. This year students attended a Psychology conference at Westminster, where not only did they explore ideas that are not covered in class (the psychology of the criminal mind, such as Jack the Ripper,) but also saw Elizabeth Loftus, who helped them gain understanding of eyewitness testimony and false memories. She was the expert on famous court cases such as the Michael Jackson trial. Other noteworthy speakers were Alex Haslam and Stephen Reicher, who administered the BBC prison study. When looking at university open days, the state-of-the-art laboratories, equipment and the courses containing such a huge and interesting variety of modules is what makes psychology and the prospect of studying it at a higher level so exciting.
Debating Mr Ferreira worked hard with the school Debating Team: two students Matthew Stock and Zara Kaplan were invited to the Cambridge Student Union Schools Finals Day. It was an honour to make the finals, competing against the best teams in the country: at tough but fulfilling day. A group of year 10 and year 12 students were selected to travel to Queens’ College Cambridge for a History Matters Debating completion. It was an exciting day, and year 12 team emerged victorious, beating Maidstone Grammar School for Girls in the Final. Many congratulations to Alex Jones and Finley Gore, Alice Mellows and Josh Moonie. In the year 10 competition Anna Davidson, Dillon Buckley and Niamh Hurleywere narrowly defeated by the St. Ivo team.
Winston Churchill Public Speaking Competition Students were invited to Chartwell to take part in a workshop for the Sir Winston Churchill Public Speaking Competition. Visiting the home of Sir Winston Churchill was certainly a highlight of the occasion and the students enjoyed taking part in masterclasses and touring this great British house. Revisiting Chartwell in June for the competition final, the year 10 team performed well but were beaten by a very experienced grammar school team.
Student receiving awards and certificates from Jenny Churchill, great grand-daughter of Sir Winston Churchill
2019 – 2020
Debating Club continued to meet every week to discuss/debate a wide range of topics. Our “Santa is a criminal” debate provided a memorable meeting filled with passion and humour. Three sixth form teams competed in the Oxford Schools competition at Brampton Manor School. Lower down in the school a year 9 team entered for the PiXL Up for Debate competition, challenging as ever but providing a great foundation for future debating in the school. Unfortunately, the Winston Churchill Public Speaking Competition was unable to take place. As reigning champions, it was a great disappointment not to have the opportunity to defend our title.
Science
Science Club has continued to be very successful - in December Christmas themed meetings were held at lunchtime. Students used chromatography to make Christmas tree decorations, creating fake snow with sodium polyacrylate (the absorbent material inside nappies); they had great fun testing their snowman catapults!
Lower Sixth Cambridge Chemistry Challenge
Sixteen year 12 students participated in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge and the results were as follows: Joseph Hurley—Silver—1 mark below Gold! Nathan Boachie—Bronze Alex Gray—Bronze Lareina Jude-Manorajh—Bronze Sofia Powell—Bronze Harvir Sangha—Bronze James Talbot—Bronze
Physics Robotic Challenge After weeks of work at lunchtime and after school, the day finally dawned in July for two teams of year 10 students. They arrived at Leonardo UK in Basildon. Leonardo is a global high-tech player in Aerospace, Defence and Security. It has over 45,000 employees internationally, including around 7,000 in the UK, offering a wide range of defence and security solutions to governments, institutions and citizens. They spent a day engaged in competitions with the remote controlled robotic chariots which they had built. The three competitions were Sumo, Obstacle Course and 2-a-side football. Despite technical difficulties faced throughout the day, both teams put on a strong showing for the Coopers Coborn debut at the competition. ‘Out of this World’, built and raced by Emma Kennedy, William Talwar, Stephen Thompson and Rebecca Wright, performed well in the obstacle course, finishing 9th in qualifying to be denied one of the top eight places to progress to the knockout stage. ‘Diamond’, built and raced by Annabel Casey-Sweeney, Jessica Lowrie and Bethan Wimpenny, reached the semi- finals of both the Sumo and the 2-a-side football, but in both instances were knocked out by the eventual winners.
2019 -2020
52nd Annual Chemistry Olympiad 2020 Many congratulations to the following chemistry students who participated in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Olympiad and received awards. A Bronze Award was awarded for achieving 12-21 marks, and a Silver was for 22-36 marks. Well done to: Alexander Grey and Lareina Jude-Manorajh, who achieved a Bronze award, and Nathan Boachie, Joseph Hurley and Stephen McLoughlin who all achieved the Silver award.
Technology
Food Technology
Year 10 GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition students took part in a Festive Yule Log Challenge. They were tasked with making and decorating a Yule Log in one 60 minute lesson—certainly an ambitious challenge! The finished cakes were judged by Mr Marshall, Head of Year 10, who was very impressed with the skills shown by the students, especially given the time constraints. Well done to everyone who entered. The winners were: 1st: Paige Reynolds 2nd: Abigail Mangion 3rd: Bethan Wimpenny Highly Commended: Annabel Casey-Sweeney and Niamh Meachem
Year 6 students from St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School recently visited the Food Department to take part in practical cookery. The students cooked pizza whirls, ably supported by some of the Year 7 and 8 students,themselves ex-students of St
Joseph’s. The Year 6 students said: ‘It was a really good experience to prepare us for senior school.’ ‘It was a fun experience that took me out of my comfort zone.’ ‘It was nice to try something I had never done before.’ ‘It was a good experience for teamwork.’ Mrs Ruth was really impressed by the Year 7 and 8 student helpers who were excellent subject ambassadors.
In preparation for their GCSE exam Year 10 Food Preparation and Nutrition students carried out their mock practical exam to plan, prepare and cook two dishes in two hours. The students were given the theme of Multicultural Food and had free choice over the country of focus. They excelled themselves and showed off their technical skills such as jointing chicken, filleting fish, and making fresh pasta.
2019 – 2020
Christmas Bake Off Congratulations to Lois Gable in year 7 from Gibson who won the Inter House Coopers Coborn Christmas Bake Off Final with her fantastic chocolate yule log design. Georgie Moran in Year 8 in Guild was awarded a Highly Commended Runner-Up for her final piece. All the contestants did an amazing job, especially those who made it through to the Final.
Examination Results
2019
A Level students achieved 64pc A*-B grades with 32pc of all grades standing at A*-A. The head of sixth form stated ‘ it really is a team effort and testament to the hard work of the students, and also the amazing support they have received from our staff and their parents. The biggest measure of success, however, is that every student leaves the school full of character, opportunity and appreciates the value of our ethos of 'Love as Brethren' - after today, I feel we have certainly achieved that!" Speaking directly to some of the St Mary's Lane school's highest achievers in her office on Thursday morning, headteacher Sue Hay said: "I am absolutely amazed at the hard work you have all put in and you should all be very proud of yourselves today. You have all contributed to our community in so many ways, and you have all coped with the pressure of these exams - having to sit so many in such a short time’
Year 11 students achieved an amazing 95 pc pass rate - Grade 4 or above – in both English and Mathematics. The school was delighted with the Progress 8 score of 0.47 – this is a measure of the progress children make between the end of primary school and the end of secondary school.
2020 This proved to be an extremely challenging year for both students and staff. 2020’s A-level and GCSE results had to be awarded differently from usual, after exams were unable to go ahead due to Covid-19. Schools and colleges were asked to use their professional experience to make a fair and objective judgement of the grades they believed a student would have achieved had they sat their exams this year, based on work that the student had already done. These centre-assessed grades (CAGs) were then submitted to the relevant exam board/s. Students were either awarded their centre assessed grade or calculated grade, whichever was higher.
Duke of Edinburgh Award
Congratulations to Anna Clements and Emma Edgell-Reeves, who passed their Gold Award. This was the culmination of eighteen months of hard work and dedication.
My Bronze DofE Assessment Expedition” by Bryanna Benjamin
On March 15th I was walking into school and meeting everyone in the gym packed and ready to go, talking and seeing everybody’s excited face. However, even knowing that everyone was excited, we were all a bit scared and worried about the long walk that was drilled into us from the very beginning. But since we managed to survive the training expedition we didn’t show that we were worried (but mostly excited). On the coach everyone felt more chilled and at ease knowing we were all in it together.
We set off and the first 10 minutes of the expedition was already MUDDY and SLIPPY, my heart was in my throat. We split off in all different directions from the other groups as we all planned different routes. During the day we got lost, as did about half the other groups, but we eventually found our way and continued the long journey to the camp site. As we went on through the day the mud got thicker and deeper, at one point there was a big mud patch but it looked quite shallow so it wasn’t too bad but of course, never assume, mine and two other people in our group’s feet became submerged in thick mud. This was the first time I got scared that I was not going to complete the hike. My feet got cold, my socks were drenched and of course I only had two pairs of socks. But we tried to lighten the mood with some songs. When we were navigating our route, all five of us took turns. We talked and tried to take in as much of the nature and our surroundings as possible. We saw deer running and our instructor said they were called fawns. Then it began to rain, the wind was strong and our energy levels went down, so we stopped for a short break, had a snack, told some jokes and then started walking again.……….The next day my group woke up early to get ahead of everyone. The sleep was not that bad as we found a nice place to pitch our tents and the rain had made the floor slightly soggy and moulded to the shape of our backs. We put down our tents, sorted out where we were going with our assessor and then we were off. As we were walking we remembered that as soon as we finished this hike we would have completed the Expedition, so we pressed on. Our group got to the finish point pretty quickly so before we got to the end we sat down and took pictures of ourselves and the surroundings. The DofE was not just about the hike, cooking and camping, we also had to give a presentation in our shelter about litter in the Ashdown Forest compared to Upminster. We were told that we had all successfully passed!
Overall the experience of DofE was really an individual decision as some people may have hated it and some may have liked it, but it worked on some of our weaknesses and made us stronger and fitter. In my opinion I love camping and I like to spend time with my friends work free, so I emjoyed the expedition and everyone who finished did a fantastic job.
2019 – 2020
Sadly, due to Covid restrictions, much of this year’s programme was curtailed.
The Worshipful
Company of Coopers
The school is justifiably proud of its links with The Worshipful Company of Coopers, and every year one or two sixth form students are selected to become apprenticed to the current year’s Master of the Company. During subsequent years the Master meets regularly with his Apprentice/s to foster good relationships and support them in their future pathway. In the fulness of time many Apprentices go on to become members of the company and Freemen of the City of London. This year the Master Cooper, Mr Anthony Behrens, chose two Apprentices: Jacob Fortune and Francesca Stranders.
On Thursday, 20 June all students in Year 7 went to St Dunstan’s and All Saints Church in Stepney to celebrate the foundation of the school by its two founders, Nicholas Gibson and Prisca Coborn. Nicholas Gibson is buried at St Dunstan’s. This is an important date in our school calendar and one of the highlights for Year 7. Students were joined for the service by Chair of Governors (Mr John Fahy), Chair of Foundation Governors (Dr Ian Frood), the new Master of The Worshipful Company of Coopers (Mr Perry Bousfield), the Company Clerk (Cdr Stephen White RN (rtd)), Foundation & School Governors, Senior Staff and the Year 7 Form Tutors.
Many thanks to organist, Mr Bob Norris, and the school choir who sang ‘I Sing Because I’m Happy’ and ‘This Day’ under the musical direction of the Head of Music, Miss Lexi Williams. Grateful thanks to The Revd Canon Graham Foulis Brown (Honorary Chaplain Emeritus of The Worshipful Company of Coopers) who stepped in at the last minute to lead the service.
School Captains for 2019-2020, Jessica Smith & Stephen McLoughlin, laid a floral tribute at the Nicholas Gibson Memorial while the members of the congregation sang the hymn ‘Shine Jesus Shine’.
Dr Ian Frood OBE The school and Company were delighted to learn that Dr Ian Frood was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for Services to the Cattle Industry in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Dr Frood is Chairman of the Foundation Governing Body, as well as a member of the School Governing Body.
Charity work Before Christmas Years 7, 8 and 9 filled Christmas hampers with seasonal food such as mince pies, Christmas puddings, biscuits, chocolates, preserves, tea, coffee, tins of soup and other canned items for Grantees of The Worshipful Company of Coopers, who may be elderly, infirm, in need of financial assistance, or without any family. The school is grateful to the generosity of parents who have been so supportive. Once filled, the boxes were decorated with wrapping paper, Christmas ribbons and bows. Each form group wrote letters to the boxes’ recipients. Thanks go to Mr Bonnett and the Charity Reps for organising this annual project and a special thank you to Mr Vickers in the Canteen for donating a special hamper from his grandchildren. We sincerely hope that the Grantees enjoyed their 44 hampers and letters and that it made their Christmas that much brighter!
The school was sad to hear of the passing of Graham Foulis Brown, who was honorary Chaplain Emeritus and had always been a friend of the school.
News of Former Students and Staff
Avik Chakravarty Avik was a brilliant student from 1988 until 1995. After gaining straight A’s in Maths and Science he went on to Cambridge University to gain his degree in Physics, followed by further research at the prestigious Cavendish Laboratory. After gaining his PhD, Avik moved to the USA where he began research into many exciting new areas of physics, including sono-luminescence, nanoscience and friction reduction, whilst working at the University of California, Los Angeles. Part of his work included developing teaching materials for local schools. Sadly Avik’s life was cut short at the age of 28. In 2005 he was hiking in the Grand Canyon, Arizona when he was overcome by the fiercely high temperature, and died of heat stroke. The world lost a good person. In November 2019, a Bursary award was launched in his name. Avik’s family would like his legacy to live on with an annual bursary of £500 available to a sixth form student studying science and/or maths. The worthy recipient of the 2019 award was Nathan Boachie,
Luke Norris
Whilst at school, Luke joined the National Youth Theatre, later enrolling at the Central School of Speech and Drama, where he was awarded the Alan Bates Bursary for 2008. On graduation, he began to build up an impressive stage C.V., including the lead in Tennessee Williams' Bafta Awards 2016 'Orpheus Descending' at the Luke as Dr Dwight Manchester Royal Exchange, Enys in Poldark and in 'A View From the Bridge' and 'Blue/Orange' at the Young Vic. Luke is also a well-regarded playwright - in fact he began writing in his teens as a second string in case he failed to make it as an actor. His works 'Goodbye to All That' and 'So Here We Are' were performed to critical acclaim at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, whilst the play 'Growth' garnered rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe, and 'Hearts' played at Sheffield Crucible and the Shed at the National. He is also under commission to the Bush Theatre as of 2016, the year in which he can be seen in the second television series of 'Poldark' as idealistic but fallible Dr Dwight Enys. A self- confessed “Romford Boy” who played for Coopers’ First XI at Twickenham, starred in the primetime BBC drama Poldark, and has since had his award-winning play So Here We Are performed at the Queen’s Theatre
Rylan Clark-Neal (né Ross Clark) Rylan rose to fame after finishing in fifth place in the ninth series of The X Factor, and later won Celebrity Big Brother. Since 2014 he has been a co-presenter of ITV’s This Morning, and is a stand-in guest presenter of BBC’s The One Show. He can also be seen during the autumn months co-presenting Strictly Takes Two with Zoe Ball.
Guleraana Mir is now an award-winning writer and theatre maker. She said she grew up watching shows in the West End and at the Queen’s Theatre in Hornchurch. She took a writing course at the Billet Lane venue in 2006, but it wasn’t until 2012 that she “started to take myself seriously”. Guleraana added: “I just didn’t believe that anyone was interested in the stories that I wanted to tell, or that there were opportunities out there for me to be able to tell them. This is why it’s important to inspire the next generation and let them know that wherever they come from, or whatever their experiences are, their voice is valid.”
Simon Smith is to be congratulated on winning an Emmy Award for ‘Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Limited Series Or Movie’ for his editing work on the HBO series, Chernobyl. ‘I studied the work of Director Nick Broomfield and ended up meeting him in person during one of his promotional tours. I managed to get him to come to LSBU and deliver a talk to my fellow students, and off the back of that, he offered me my first job. He is a huge influence on me; I draw on him in my work. The advice he’s given to me, I’ve given to others. I don’t have many regrets in terms of projects I’ve worked on because I’ve learned what I like and what I don’t like. For instance, I worked on Big Brother, around series four or five. I was at the Excel Centre with thousands of people lining up outside and having them audition to the camera, I realised I didn’t want to do that. I worked on the Wolfman, a big feature film with Anthony Hopkins, and a colleague told me, "you aren’t cut out for night shoots". I kept falling asleep, so I learned that that wasn’t for me either. I worked on documentaries for a while, but there was a period of time that didn’t sit well with me and led me to write my dissertation on the treatment of documentary contributors. What does it mean to use and manipulate their representation on television and what impact does that have? This kind of question is relevant when you look at things like Love Island today. Chernobyl has to be my biggest career achievement to date. As an editor, you always hope a series like this will come along, but we didn’t think it would be as big as it is. The success was unexpected. Having received 19 Emmy nominations with 10 wins in 2019, including my own Emmy award for “Best Editing”, and the recently announced 14 BAFTA nominations, again including “Best Editing”, it’s been crazy. The things I learned on my course are still useful to me today. I think about the editing theories I learned and draw on them when I edit. I instinctively think and do things because I learned about it at LSBU. These skills have taken me a long way.’
Sheila Atim continues to make her mark in the theatre world. She recently received an MBE for her services to drama from Prince William. She appeared as an alleged witch in the 2020 BBC adaptation of Agatha Christie's The Pale Horse and in early 2020 was working on The Underground Railroad, The Irregulars and Bruised.
Rochelle Humes, nee Wiseman Rochelle started her singing career in S Club Juniors, S Club 8 and The Saturdays. She began TV presenting by co-hosting children's morning TV show Smile, and in 2013, she was a regular panellist on the first series of Sweat the Small Stuff. In August 2013, Rochelle and her husband Marvin joined ‘This Morning’ as regular stand-in presenters. She has also been involved in several reality TV shows and took part in the 2013 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special. Rochelle continues to be a regular presenter and celebrity on our screens, and is currently hosting the music TV quiz show Playlisters with her husband.
Members of Staff Valete (left during 2019/2020)
Bob Norris A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Bob was a part of the Coopers’ Coborn Music Department for many years. He joined us as a member of the Peripatetic team, teaching Pianoforte as well as Music Theory, also accompanying students in the Music Festival, grade examinations and concerts. His kindly, caring and encouraging manner, together with his cheerful humour, He always ensured that they were thoroughly prepared for their theory and practical exams, with many achieving distinction. Always generous with his time, Bob willingly took on the extra role of Junior Choir director, with numerous students eagerly attending the weekly Friday lunchtime sessions, munching their lunch before vocal warm-ups and singing in harmony. Once again, there was much fun and laughter, and often a ‘fanfare’ was improvised as students entered. The Junior Choir took part in many concerts, both in and out of school, with Bob creating opportunities for the choir to sing at Navestock at Christmastime. As well as an outstanding pianist, Bob was also an organist, conducting the Junior Choir during the annual Founders Day service
at St Dunstan’s Church. At the end of the service, he would ‘raise the roof’ when playing some of the best-loved organ masterpieces. One of the favourites was the Widor Toccata, a mammoth piece for any organist, and one that the year 7 pupils listened to in awe, both of the skill needed to perform it, and of the tremendous sound that was produced. Bob really did ‘pull out all the stops’ for this!! Bob dedicated numerous years to teaching at Coopers’ Coborn, and although ‘thank you’ sounds inadequate for all his contributions, we do sincerely thank him for all the time and help that he gave. We wish him a very happy (and very belated!!) retirement and look forward to seeing (and hearing!) him at future musical events.
Mrs Corinne Harrington Food Technician 19 years
Mr Mark Short Teacher of Religious Education 12 years
Mrs Marwa Sadek Head of Finance and Payroll 12 years
Mr Peter Garod Teacher of Business and Economics 6 years
Mr James Woodward Teacher of History 5 years
Mr Mohammad Ali Teacher of Mathematics 4 years
Miss Angela Jerome Teacher of Biology 3 years
Mrs Rong Marshall Teacher of Mandarin 3 years
Teacher of Mandarin 3 years
Mr Dave Messham Senior Hockey Coach and Cover Teacher 3 years
Miss Emma Orgar Head of Media 3 years
Mrs Lisa Colbear Teacher of Business and Economics 3 years
Miss Michaela Spoor Teachers of Mathematics 2 years
Mr Bradley Cooper Trainee Teacher of English 2 years
Miss Ronee Lavery Teacher of Mathematics 2 years
Mrs Claire Harrington Food Technician 2 years
Miss Victoria James Teacher of Physical Education 1 year
Jack Petchey
The Jack Petchey Foundation was set up to inspire and motivate young people across London and Essex by providing exciting projects and programmes for them to get involved in. Outstanding achievements of today’s young people are recognised by rewarding them for their hard work and positive impact on their community.
School winners for 2018/2019 are pictured below, and they received their awards from Councillor Dilip Patel, Mayor of Havering, who urged the assembled students to use their award win as a springboard for even bigger and better things.
Congratulations to Phoebe Day (8.2), Katie Waller (8.6) and Emily Hill (8.7) who each received the Jack Petchey Award (2018) for outstanding achievement and contribution to guiding from the new Mayor of Havering, Councillor Michael Deon Burton at the Essex West 2019 Girl Guiding event. Emily represented Hornchurch and both Phoebe and Katie represented Upminster. They all attend Guides regularly, taking on very keen and active roles in all activities with enthusiasm and always with a smile on their face.
The Jack Petchey Teacher’s Award went to James Dudley-Hart, who helped mentor and guide so many trainee teachers, encouraging them as they learned and taking prodigious care of them. James was there whenever he was needed with his guidance. He offers alternative ways of looking and dealing with behaviour issues, and on a daily basis he is willing to help regardless of how busy he is. So many have learned an awful lot from him. As Head of KS3 the students respect and value James's approach and guidance to their everyday needs. He is seen in this photo with students Jessica Shorter, Aleera Ewan and Emily Cole, who were winners in 2019.
Award winners in 2020 were Louise Harrington, Jack Hanford, Maddie Pancer, Pans Avers, Keane Handley, and Anya Kelynack. The Lead Award went to Mrs E Robinson
Semper Fidelis
Voluntary Work Two sixth form students, Alex Gray and Euan McDonnell volunteered to help at the Oaks, a local residential care home. This was started as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Volunteering Scheme, but quickly become a labour of love. The boys spent time talking to the residents and playing Beatles and 60s classic music.
Mr Edwards and Student Ambassadors Destiny in 8.8 and Amelie in 8.7 spent a morning sorting out the latest batch of football boots to send to Colombia. Many thanks to Damon O’Neill who is already out in Colombia and will be organising the distribution.
Charity Work A fantastic £28,000 has been raised for the school charities over the last two years, thanks to the hard work of students and their parents. During 2018 / 2020 the following charities were supported:
Australian Bush Fires Breast Cancer Now Broomfield Hospital Bereavement Cancer Research Children in Need Children with Cancer Comic Relief Crisis Centrepoint Diabetes Dogs Trust Havering Mind Jeans for Genes Little Havens Hospice Make A Wish Foundation McMillan Cancer Support Save the Children Sports Relief St Francis Hospice Water Aid
Each year students from year 11 raise money to host a Christmas party for pupils at Joseph Clarke School, a centre of excellence for visual impairment in the South East of England. They offer education and support for pupils with vision impairment and additional or complex needs. Year 11 put in a lot of effort fundraising with cake sales, quizzes, karaoke and many other events. The party is always greatly enjoyed by year 11, who entertain their guests with music and a visit to Santa’s grotto.
The Forces of Nature club held a bake sale for World Food Day which raised over £200 for the United Nations World Food Programme
Remembrance Day Service
The school’s annual service of remembrance takes place in Coopers’ Court. The school gathers together to pay their respects to the old boys of the school who died or were injured in the Great War and every war since. Readings are given by the school captains and the Headteacher, and a senior musician plays The Last Post and Reveille to mark the two-minute silence. In remembrance of those fallen, a group of students planted the Remembrance Avenue of 118 rowan and hawthorn trees, each one dedicated to a different fallen Old Boy. Below the trees, there will be a sea of poppies and forget- me-nots. This living corridor of trees will be a visual reminder of the sheer number of student and staff lives lost during World War 1 and act as a reminder about the fragility of life, necessity of peace and the importance of remembrance.
Cooper the Dog In 2019 Cooper the Cockapoo was inducted into the school to be trained as a learning support dog. In the early months he was acclimatising himself to the school environment and spending most of his day in and around the school office. During the year he received professional training with a view to becoming a full member of staff!
In Memory of….
David Parry, Teacher, Deputy Headteacher and Headteacher 2002 – 2018
John French, Headteacher in both Bow and Upminster 1969 – 1990
The Reverend Canon Graeme Foulis Brown 1950 – 2020, Honorary Chaplain Emeritus to the Worshipful Company of Coopers
Mike Feeney, Teacher of Zoology and Biology, 1973 – 1995. Also held the post of Examinations Officer.
Sam Spiers, Teacher of Physical Education in the 1970s and 80s.
Sheila Libman, Teacher of Mathematics in the 1970s/80s.
Ken Howse, Teacher of English 1947 – 1953.
Ivor Broadis, student at Coopers from 1934 to1939. He died aged 96 in April 2019, and was England’s oldest surviving international footballer. Ivor played in the 1954 World Cup Finals, and had the honour of being the first Englishman to score twice in the Finals Tournament.
George Attwood, student at Coopers Coborn from 2011 to 2016.
For more information about this edition or material for inclusion in next year’s The Coopers’ Company and Coborn Record contact: [email protected]