Cranford Review 2016

the benefits of seeking out people who
don’t agree with you so that you learn
to compromise, adding “Compromise
does not mean surrendering what you
believe”.
The students got the chance to shake
hands with Obama - a life changing
moment. Navneet Arura pictured shaking
hands with Barack Obama said: “The
president came across as incredibly
charismatic and as a man of genuine
integrity. He gave very good answers
on a wide range of topics but it was his
responses in favour of gender equality
which particularly impressed me”.
Ali Aweis said: “I was fascinated by the
way the president used body language
to emphasise the points he made.
His message was one of hope and the
rejection of cynicism. I was inspired by
his comments that change only comes
about with struggle and discipline”.
Executive Headteacher Kevin Prunty
said: “The five young leaders will remember this exceptional
opportunity for the rest of their lives and we believe this
type of opportunities will motivate and inspire our students,
as well as significantly enhancing their future prospects”.
On Monday 25th April 2016, 15 “young leaders” from the school
met the US ambassador again to follow up the points raised at
the President Obama’s town hall meeting.
Alan Fraser
(Assistant Headteacher- Community)
“This once in a lifetime opportunity was absolutely tremendous. I never
thought that I would be able to get this opportunity to meet President Barack
Obama. The state of excitement and nervousness I felt was indescribable,
after all it’s not every day you get to meet the most important man on the
planet – the President of the United States. When he started speaking, there
was a very influential tone in his voice; he had charisma and was able to
offer good answers to the questions asked, which ranged from LGBT rights,
gender equality and racial profiling. I was particularly impressed at how
President Obama told us, the British youth not to step back from our politics
and to reject ‘cynicism’ if we are to lead on our country. Overall, the whole
event proved extremely worthwhile and beneficial to; I was able to see what
other young people had in mind, as well as listen to the President’s responses
to these. This is something I will never forget”.
Navneet Arura (year 12)
“Obama lived up very much to my
expectations, a well-spoken man who
showed charisma with every gesture; he
had tons of confidence too, being able to
stand up and speak in front of hundreds of
people in the audience and thousands on
the television as if this cam naturally to
him. It was also apparent from his several
subtle gestures how intelligent he was.
His removing his suit and rolling up his
sleeves to indicate that he was not being a
politician or walking around the podium
after his initial speech to show that he
breaks formal barriers, were just among
some of the things he did which showed
me just how much of a good politician he
really is. That’s not to say that he wasn’t
being genuine however. On the contrary
when one of the audiences (a Somali
gentleman) questioned him on waste
dumping in the Red Sea, the President
openly admitted that he wasn’t aware of
the situation and more importantly, was
willing to listen to the gentleman’s issue.
That is what I found to be his most notable
feature, that as well as him being a great
speaker, he was also a good listener”.
Ali Aweis (year12)
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