Title GCA Issue 14 1 Coming soon A letter from our Principal Dear students, parents, carers and friends of Greig City Academy, Welcome to our school magazine. As I write, our Year 11 and Sixth Form students are about to finish their GCSE and GCE examinations. Whatever results day brings, their qualifications will be the outcome of sustained and high-quality effort by students and staff working together with common purpose in an atmosphere of trust and respect. We are proud of their achievements and wish them the best of luck for that August day when they receive their results. It has been another successful year for our robotics teams. Our Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 teams performed exceptionally well throughout the competition season and, in the National Finals, the Year 9 team achieved a well-deserved second place. In our capacity as the Haringey STEM Innovations Hub we hosted the borough’s first STEM Showcase in which 20 local schools demonstrated a range of exciting activities. We are now working with 12 primary schools, helping staff and pupils develop and deliver robotics programmes. Our girls have had an amazing year! Our Years 7, 9 and senior netball teams and our Years 8 and 9 rounders teams are all Haringey League Champions. In their first year of dance, a mixed group of girls and boys saw success at borough and regional levels before going on to become UK Schools Dance Champions. Additionally, an impressive number of students are taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, Building work will soon start on GCA’s new STEM centre. learning new skills and volunteering both in school and in the community. The centre will host a wide range of innovative projects as well as enabling us to further Last year our senior sailing crew won praise for their outstanding performance in the Fastnet Race and in a series of keelboat races on the south coast and in Miami. The new Fastnet crew are already in training and develop our STEM programme for Haringey primary schools. recently enjoyed success in the Antigua Sailing Regatta. The programme continues with younger students coming through from Year 7 upwards. As most of you will know, outdoor education is an important feature of Academy life; most students will take part in at least one activity each year and will face and overcome challenges ranging from dealing with physical hardship to working collaboratively with new people. Our Keep an eye on GCA’s website www.greigcityacademy.co.uk thanks go to all the staff involved whose commitment, dedication and organisational skills ensure these activities continue to be challenging, successful, safe and of course fun! and our Facebook and Twitter pages. Many of the opportunities we offer are supported by external partners, in particular the Greig Trust, the We will be reporting on progress throughout the summer. Tallow Chandlers Company, the Tottenham Grammar School Foundation and Pioneer Underwriters. We thank them for their continued involvement, interest and financial support. I am pleased that standards of behaviour and school uniform remain excellent and that high levels of attendance are maintained. As a result visitors continue to be impressed when they visit the Academy. I thank parents and carers for their continued commitment and support in maintaining these high standards. Finally, I am pleased to report that we go into the next academic year with an increased intake at Year 7. September will also see the introduction of two specialist curriculum pathways: STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths); and the Mandarin Excellence Programme. We are all proud of the Academy and we look forward to another successful year with genuine anticipation and confidence. I wish you all a splendid summer break. Yours faithfully, Mr P.V. Sutton OBE 2 GCA Issue 14 GCA Issue 14 3 Well done Well done Congratulations to the students and staff featured over the next seven pages who have excelled in so many different ways. Tallow Chandlers’ bursary winners In September, we were delighted to welcome members of the Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers for a Outstanding for All presentation of academic bursaries. Once again, GCA made it a double at Haringey Council’s Outstanding for All Awards. The Company is generously supporting STEMM (science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine) at GCA. This support includes academic bursaries for the highest achieving students in STEMM subjects at the end of Year 12. Provided Sixth former, Jackie Lee, took the Jackie incentivised his fellow students winners take a STEMM subject at university, they will receive a further bursary during their first year. Achievement in the Arts Award. The into putting a phenomenal amount of award recognises ‘a young person effort into a promenade production of The Master of the Tallow Chandlers, Mr James Long, presented certificates and cheques to these deserving students: or group excelling in an art form, The Great Gatsby. This was a one-off The Tallow Chandlers’ bursary winners 2017 including visual arts, the performing performance, co-directed by Jackie and arts or music.’ Ms Ajoku, from which all our talented Physics James Shatro Two students were awarded the first part of their bursary actors benefited in terms of developing Chemistry Gabriel Durojaiye for AS results in 2015 or 2016. They have now collected the technique, confidence – and staying second part of their bursary, £1000, to help meet the costs power! A Q&A session at the end of Product Design Nebyou Alemayehu of their degree course: the performance was a piece of Mathematics Arrwin Mugundharajah 2015 Award Winner theatre in itself. Mr Holt Biology Margarita Rossero-Arias Michal Wensierski Mr Holt, Head of Sixth Form and Computer Science Glanyell White Product Design Engineering outdoor education, won the The judges praised Mr Holt for his University of Loughborough Councillor Egan Achievement Award. long-term commitment to outdoor 2016 Award Winner This award recognises ‘exceptional education at GCA and, in particular, for Michael Owusu work or achievement in the field of the way he has inspired students with Mathematics and Accountancy education, spanning primary and no sailing experience to take up the Jackie University of Leeds secondary schools.’ sport competitively and to compete against experienced professionals ‘Surprise’ and ‘unexpected’ were the from all over the world. two words most used by our winners after the presentation – they weren’t told of their success in advance. They Precious and Arnas, winners in the Oliver Tambo all wanted to thank their teachers for Centenary Competition pushing them to the limit. To mark the centenary of the birth of Oliver Tambo, Haringey students were invited to produce work in the Bursary winners with Mr James medium of their choice that would express the significance of his life and what he stood for. and Mrs Kate Long Oliver Tambo was a South African anti-apartheid politician who served as President of the African National Congress from 1967 to 1991. He mobilised international opposition to apartheid in South Africa, much of this from the home he made in Haringey after leaving his country. Sixth former Precious won first prize in the 14-18 category for her poem, which was described by the judges as: ‘A really impactful poem that conveys Tambo’s significance and speaks to hearts and minds in the way that Tambo did.’ At the award ceremony, Precious read her poem to an appreciative audience Margarita James Gabriel Nebyou of students, parents and teachers, David Lammy MP, Lord Peter Hain and many active members of the anti- apartheid movement who continue to Precious at the ceremony stand up against racism. Arnas, Year 9, received a commendation for his sculpture, which was described by the judges as: ‘A very high impact piece, which gives a good sense of what Tambo stood for.’ It took Arnas a week to create his sculpture as he had to leave time for it to dry at each stage. Definitely worth all that hard work. Arnas with his sculpture of Oliver Tambo Arrwin Glanyell Michael Michal 4 GCA Issue 14 GCA Issue 14 5 Well done Well done The Jack Petchey Achievement Awards Rebecca speaks out Year 10 students, Rebecca, Masoom, Paradice and Abigail were worthy winners of the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge held in November. After learning and rehearsing public speaking techniques, students presented a three-minute speech on a topic about which they were passionate. Abigail told us not to be afraid of making changes in our lives. Paradice Aziz, 8MA, demonstrates a positive Luciana, 8EW, has made excellent Rhema, 9ME, is an all-rounder, a argued that we should all make sure attitude and is tenacious, polite and progress in science, steadily improving mature student who demonstrates This award scheme is run by the Jack Petchey Foundation, we thank our parents for what they helpful both in class and in the extra- her scores so that she is now one of integrity in everything he does. He which was set up by a London businessman. Over the year, nine give us and what they mean to us. curricular and primary school activities the highest achievers in the class. She has a very good grasp of challenging students are selected to receive an award celebrating their he helps organise. He is an excellent has reached this point through hard topics and concepts, and works Masoom argued strongly for face-to- achievement in some area of school life. The Foundation also artist and coder. His teachers agree work in lessons and at home and being independently on extension work. face rather than face-to-screen contact. gives the school funds for each of the months that we make the it is a pleasure to have him in their very conscientious in her approach to In class he shares work and ideas Rebecca talked about her aspiration of award and winners get to choose how to spend their funds to classroom and describe him as ‘a star’.