Cranford Review 2016

Year 13 Class of 2016
The
A Record Breaking Year
year 13 Celebration Evening at the Heston Sports Ground Imperial College
London venue on Thursday 26th May 2016 attended by staff, students
and parents, was certainly a memorable one where everyone enjoyed an evening of
entertainment by our very talented students, speeches and the presentation of certificates
by Executive Headteacher, Kevin Prunty.
The evening was truly an excellent opportunity to acknowledge the culmination of our
year 13 students’ academic careers at Cranford and to celebrate their achievements as
they leave us to go onto the next stage of their studies or to the world of work. This
Celebration Evening was particularly special as we celebrated Ms Ledlie’s 30th birthday.
The programme for the evening got off to an amazing start with a duet by Diana Atouguia
and Maria Hashmi as they sung ‘Someone Like You’ with an original twist as they built
in melodies of songs such as ‘One Dance’ with true skill. This outstanding performance
was followed by a heartfelt farewell speech from the Student Leadership Trio (Diana
Atouguia – Head Girl, Taylor Panesar – Head Boy and Adil Hassan – Deputy Head Boy)
who introduced the evening and thanked staff and peers for their consistent support.
Mr Prunty, Executive Headteacher, then took the stage with a huge smile filled with pride
as he praised the year group for their outstanding achievements and their contributions
to making Cranford a fantastic school. He was particularly impressed with the recordbreaking
number of students who have successfully obtained offers from highly ranked
universities and concluded by inviting the whole audience to sing Happy Birthday to Ms
Ledlie as he presented her with some flowers.
A very creative performance of ‘Seven Years’ by Adil Hassan accompanied on ukulele
by Zayn Hassan brought the crowd to life as Adil summarised the many milestones and
experiences he has enjoyed at Cranford through a rap he had written which touched the
hearts of many but also had the crowd laughing and cheering as they shared the trip
down memory lane with him.
During the presentation of certificates, the tutors introduced each student with a
personalised message whilst an impressive list of chosen universities and their photos
acted as a back drop. The final performance was a beautiful performance of ‘See You
Again’ by Anisa Hassan accompanied by Zahra Butt on guitar; a very well-chosen and
appropriate song as the year group reminisced their time at Cranford and looked forward
to embarking on new journeys.
The formal element of the evening concluded with Mr Ryan, Ms Ledlie and me giving
one last boost of motivation as they head off into the wider world. Mr Ryan, Head of
Sixth Form detailed their academic successes whilst I reflected upon what a wonderful
year group they have been from the moment I met many of them as year 9 students as
I entered the profession to now. Ms Ledlie’s touching and tearful speech was certainly
one which the students will hold close to them for many years to come as she thanked
the students for all the experiences they have shared with her over the last 7 years.
The party began with a surprise cake and presentation of a birthday gift for Ms Ledlie
as the year group sang to her in their own special tune, a surprise that left Ms Ledlie
speechless. This certainly got everyone in the party spirit as we ate, danced and partied
the night away.
We wish the class of 2016 every success for the future and hope that they will keep in
touch as part of the Cranford Alumni.
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Randeep Sidhu (Head of year 13)