Cranford Review 2017

2016 / 2017

Editorial 2016 / 2017
This
has
examination results remain strong
been a great year for Cranford
on so many different fronts. Our
despite the new tougher grading system brought in
this summer at GCSE. The attainment of our students
remains significantly above average as does their
progress when examining the new ‘Progress 8’ score.
We are delighted that so many of our Sixth form students
have scored very highly at A level and are going on to
study at the most prestigious Russell Group universities
in the UK including the London School of Economics,
Kings College London, Warwick University and Bristol
University to name but a few.
In addition to outstanding teaching and achievement,
our students continue to benefit from a vast range of
additional enrichment opportunities and activities such
as the Eton University Summer School. This year, we
hosted the Duke of Edinburgh awards at Cranford for
the first time and the uptake of this programme among
our students goes from strength to strength.
We remain immensely proud of our international links
with schools in the best performing systems across
the Globe including China, Brazil, Thailand, Korea,
Japan, Finland, and the United States. These are unique
opportunities open to students at Cranford and the
breadth of experience gained from these experiences
is of immense value.
Students at Cranford continue to develop as leaders
within the school and beyond. This year we hosted
a Student Leadership Conference and many of our
students took up the opportunity to be involved in
politics through events held at the Houses of Parliament
as well as direct experience of the General Election
campaign in June 2017.
Our partnership with Berkeley Primary School
continues to flourish and we are delighted that this
year, Berkeley has had its best results ever at every
Key Stage. The school is truly a great place and is now
hugely oversubscribed. This is a great transformation
over a short period of time.
Despite changes to how examination subjects are rated
in the school performance tables, the Arts at Cranford
remain incredibly strong as you will see through the
many stunning art, drama and music activities taking
place in the school. Whilst we promote academic
excellence at every opportunity we also have a deep
commitment to develop the ‘whole person’. I am
therefore immensely proud of the many awards our
students achieve as for example with the Jack Petchey
awards where we recognise excellent contributions to
the school community and beyond, and our students
winning the EU Commission poetry competition.
This review provides you with a flavour of the extensive
range of opportunities available to students at Cranford.
I hope that you enjoy reading it.
Kevin Prunty
(Executive Headteacher, National Leader of Education)
2
Cranford Review 2016-2017
Executive editor: Jessica Joyce | Assistant editor: Philip Dobison | Graphic design: Enzo Gianvittorio
Printed by: Cleverbox.co.uk | Copyright © Cranford Community College - 2017

Student
Leadership
Conference 2017
Cranford’s Student Leadership conference on Wednesday 8th
March 2017 with over 400 staff and students attending in a full
day of collegiate activities focused on team-building, creative
brainstorming and blue-sky thinking about ideas for future innovations in
the school based around the core theme of Student Leadership.
The day, began with a keynote address from Executive Headteacher Mr
Kevin Prunty and focused on the importance and future of education both at
Cranford and worldwide. Participants worked in four strands based around
key values of the school: Pride, Respect, Learning and Aspiration. Much of
the creative thinking and strategising came from smaller working groups of
staff and students who focused on school improvement and student leadership.
There were a number of light-hearted but interesting ideas presented and
already practical changes have been implemented to build student leadership
and responsibility and ensure students have a voice. The positive
atmosphere generated by the day was a key outcome and an action plan
is being completed considering short, medium and long term change.
Significant alterations to the spaces available for students at social
times, both to learn, exercise and relax, have been put into place and a
new cycle of registration activities has been implemented with the aim
of building on this positivity and generating the ‘family’ environment
the pastoral team believe form classes must embody. Additionally,
within form time, tutors are beginning to pilot a ‘shout out’ space
for students to praise the achievements of their classmates. These
positive messages of reinforcement also feed into the outcomes on
mental health, a key area highlighted by the conference. Work in this
important area has begun with form time reflection activities, the school councillor’s
drop in sessions including how to cope with exam stress. It also provided a launch
platform for the peer-mentoring programme which is running alongside the Hounslow
Promise mentoring scheme.
The conference was successful and the involvement of prefects and year group
councils in its planning and delivery was a very good example of student
leadership in action. This was only the first stage in the process of
building student leadership in across the school. Medium term priorities
include more specific leadership roles for students including subject
specialists, further support for mental health, the school marking policy,
development of the PSHCE, Period 0 and WFactor programmes.
Kevin Biggs (Senior Teacher)
1

When
“Face Value”
An Arts Intergenerational Project
I was approached about this project in December 2016, I
wasn’t quite sure what shape it was going to take. What I
loved about it was its organic nature, where the artists Marion Pike, Frances
Rifkin and Nikki Rolls took what the students gave them and created artistic
moments through this. Augusto Boal’s style of theatre is very much about
changing the human condition and helping us to see things differently, and
this is what “Face Value” did as a visual and theatre arts project.
Participants consisted of students, young community members and elders
from the local area working both independently and with the older people
involved from Hounslow Seniors Trust to explore their perceptions of each
other. In the first session they worked with visual artist Nikki Rolls to create
a painting based on perceptions young people have of older people and vice
versa. These perceptions were also recorded so that we were exploring other
senses to make us aware of each other. Nicki Rolls works with film, painting, drawing
and installation to produce works which explore cinematic and virtual worlds and the
tension which arises between the natural world and its appropriation by technological
process. She seeks to interrupt and break down this process, attempting to wrest the
image from the grasp of technology. Nicki is a London based artist. She graduated
from Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design in 2005 with a BA (Hons.) Fine
Art and in 2011 she completed her MA in Fine Art at London Institute, Wimbledon
College of Art.
The following sessions used Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed techniques with Frances
Rifkin, to explore the relationships young people have with older people and the lack of connections
that exist. But the focus soon shifted to explore the common ground and finding solutions in
relationships to create a more harmonious family, society, individual so we as humans can
create a better world. Frances founder and lead practitioner at UtopiaArts knows her stuff.
She gained her experience working at the coal face of political theatre recording stories
on the picket lines of the miners strike. She has written papers and led academic classes
examining participatory ethics within the arts, social and welfare sectors. The focus of her
work is taking forum theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed techniques into the community
to health and wellbeing professionals and its service users.
During the sharing on 28th March 2017 a parent of one the students at Cranford also
participated in the performance, which she thoroughly enjoyed. She acted
alongside her daughter where her daughter was playing the mother…roles reversed
to help them see the situation from another perspective.
In the last few sessions participants created their second visual art piece to see
if their perceptions had changed of each other through the drama sessions. The
project culminated in an event at Chiswick Town Hall on Friday 31st March
2017, where the participants performed their work to a very diverse audience of
families, councillors and artists. They watched older people do a Bollywood dance
and some contemporary dance with Ballet Rambert. It was an event where people
shared conversation, shared an arts experience and had fun The focus was not
on the outcome of the project but much more on the journey for the participants
in understating each other and being transformed deeply as part of the process.
2
Seema Sethi (Head of Drama, School and Community Arts Development)

Zeroplus
Theatre
Teachers
Preview
“
Theatre in education is a powerful tool to engage students both in theatre and the issues
they are faced with and the need to reflect on to bring about social change”
Our
resident theatre in education
company, Zeroplus Theatre,
based here at Cranford Community
College, held a teachers’ preview for
both primary and secondary schools in
Hounslow on Tuesday 10th January 2017.
Teachers had the opportunity to watch and
hear some extracts from the performances
to give them a flavour of the work that
Zeroplus Theatre are currently touring, all
of which have been available throughout
this academic year.
They performed scenes from:
The Maharajah and the Kohinoor
- showcasing British Asian heritage -
key stages 1, 2 and 3 - history, English,
geography and drama.
Agent - address the plight of refugees
and economic migrants - key stage 4 -
PSHCE, RE, history and English.
And readings from:
My Grandad and I - faith symbolism
- key stages 2, 3 and 4 - RE, PSHCE,
English
All Our Heroes - 1914 WW1 -
South Asian and overseas soldiers’
contribution to WW1 - history, PSHCE,
RE and geography.
The evening was a great success and gave
us a chance to sample some of the work,
look at the resource material and speak
with the workshop leaders.
Seema Sethi (Head of Drama, School and
Community Arts Development)
3

Targeted
Intervention
Days 2017
Personal Development Day
On
Tuesday 17th January 2017 the school collapsed the timetable
and we spent time developing our understanding of personal,
social, health and citizenship education. This year saw a big focus on
mental health with all students working completing a mental health
workshop looking at mental and emotional
health and strategies to manage it. The school
also spent time looking at drugs education and finding out about the risks of
drugs. There was a bespoke programme for each year group that supported
students including year 7 students managing loss including bereavement,
separation and divorce. Year 8 students looked into the impact of cancer,
the developmental of physical health and explored relationships. The year 9
cohort developed their understanding of self-esteem and dealing with criticism
and looked at the impact of gambling and its consequences. Students in year 10
spent the rest of the day looking at health and wellbeing linked to relationships,
including working with nurses on sexual health. They also found out about
being pregnant and a parent and the impact this has on their lives. Year 11
students spent time looking and managing loss and failure as well as making
informed decisions about their life, whilst exploring the impact of media on
their lifestyle. Students in year 12 developed their understanding of consent, parenthood,
adoption and fostering and sexual health. Finally, year 13 students spent time looking at preparing
for the future considering personal finance and living on their own with various external organisation
and thinking about the impact of leaving school and starting the next steps of their lives.
Careers TI Day
On
Tuesday 7th February 2017 the whole school took part in a targeted
intervention day that focused on careers, jobs and enterprise. Each year
group worked on a bespoke programme that helped them look to the future and
further their thinking on which path they will take. Year 7 students spent time visiting
different parts of London researching different job sectors and understanding the
types of organisation that gravitate together in different areas such as the creative
arts, financial district, retail and media. Students in year 8 visited a number of
employers to explore different job roles and and meet employees to find out the types
of jobs they do, the skills they need and the routes they took on their own career
paths. Year 9, 10 and 11 students had the opportunity to visit a careers fair where they
talked with various employers from all major sectors. Year 9 and 10 students faced
the Zombie Apocalypse during which they spent time exploring different higher
education opportunities and the requirements needed for a society to function as
well as completing an activity with the Royal Navy to build a wheelbarrow to move
water, building team skills as part of the STEM project.
Year 11 students looked at skills and in particular spent time looking at the transition
from GCSEs to A Levels and continued to upskill themselves ready for their up
and coming exams.
Year 12 Careers and Higher Education Day – Year 12 students looked into their plans
after A Levels and spent time exploring the different options available to them. They
spent time exploring how UCAS works, apprenticeships, student finance and looked
into alternative options such a taking a gap year or volunteering. Students in year
13 spent time working with key groups of teachers on bespoke subject intervention
to ensure they are ready for their up and coming exams. A number of students spent
time working with apprenticeship providers and staff to prepare for their future after year 13.
Kevin Biggs (Senior Teacher)
4

Year 7 - TI Days
On
the Tuesday 7th February 2017, year 7 students embarked on their own exhilarating journeys
to London for a careers day. On the train, we did a great job in representing Cranford
Community College and many members of the public were asking which school we were from and
where we were going.
Our form, 7W, made its way to East London Tech City first. We managed to catch a quick glimpse of
the iconic skyscraper ‘The Gherkin’ which is a famous landmark in London where ‘The Apprentice’
and many other television shows were filmed.
Whilst we were walking through Tech City, we were fortunate enough to see a number of different
careers. We saw estate agents, restaurants and retail outlets. The extra businesses and shops around
East London meant we got to see how adults work differently and how their jobs are a major part of
their lives.
Next, we went to Spitalfields Market which had a mix of different types of jobs. There were people
selling food, clothes and accessories such as sunglasses and handbags. The market helped us learn
how different people come to their jobs every day. The market’s food stalls were very different to
the restaurants in Tech City because the market stalls handed out food samples outside whilst the
restaurants did not.
Last but not least, we visited The Geffrye Museum of The Home. This gave us an insight
to what our bedrooms and houses in general will look like in the future, what they look
like in the present and what they looked like in the past. Sadly, we only visited the teenage
bedroom display at the museum because we were running of time but the visit
was definitely worthwhile.
Ria Dhaliwal (year 7)
5

On
Wednesday 15th March 2017, Cranford
Community College played host to the
borough Duke of Edinburgh Awards Evening
where students and young adults from various schools and open award centres across the borough,
came together to celebrate their achievement at Bronze, Silver and Gold Level.
This high profile event was attended by a number of dignitaries including: Peter Fleet, Director of
Duke of Edinburgh London Region, Maria Pedro, Hounslow’s Deputy Lieutenant, Councillor Ed
Mayne, Ambassador for the Award, London Borough of Hounslow and Ajmer Grewal, Mayor of
Hounslow. Cranford Community College is the first school in Hounslow to host this prestigious event.
Kevin Prunty, Executive Headteacher, opened the proceedings, welcoming parents, teachers, young
people from nine centres of excellence and invited guests to celebrate 50 years of the Duke of
Edinburgh scheme and promised an evening of inspiration, in true Cranford style. In addition, he
spoke with great fondness about the wonderful work of Dot Hasslet who has led the borough DofE
initiative for over 25 years and presented her with flowers on behalf of the school.
The evening saw performances from various groups including Shubhdeep Sethi, Marco Paoli, Teodor
Jevtic from Cranford and a Duke of Edinburgh Award group ‘signing’ to music, a skill they had learnt
as part of the award programme. The evening saw over 500 Bronze and Silver Awards presented
including a Gold Award presented by the Mayor.
Kevin Biggs (Senior teacher – DofE Co-ordinator)
Cranford Hosts the
Duke of Edinburgh
Awards Evening 2017
6

Duke of Edinburgh Expeditions 2017
The
Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme continues to
be a popular and well-attended programme run
by staff for students at Cranford. Each year more and more
students from year 9 upwards want to take on the challenges
and rewards the course has to offer and to gain either a Bronze,
Silver or Gold Award. This year was no exception and a group
of likeminded and determined young people embarked on the
ever-challenging expedition at the start of the summer term and
all returned triumphant having completed the required elements.
Thank you to all the staff who supported the expeditions and
well down to the DofE students 2017.
Kevin Biggs (Senior Teacher - DofE Co-ordinator)
“Throughout my DofE experience, my happiness levels were high,
however, there were many points when I was aching and just
wanted to get to the campsite. Despite this, I managed to soldier
through and I didn’t complain during the walks. One thing that
kept me going throughout the walk was a text from my mother I
received early on in the walk. I’m not exactly sure why it did but
I believe it may have been the idea of seeing my family once I
had completed this walk that had allowed me to walk on. I felt
as if I was a motherly figure towards the other girls as I tried my
hardest to make sure that they were okay”.
We left our home with fears and hopes
Wondering what mysteries lie ahead.
Our rucksacks were packed and ready to
go,
Yet we remained optimistic about what the
future held.
Day 1 was scary, anticipating, challenging
and frustrating.We powered through the
day,
And ended with our ‘not-so-cosy’ tents.
Day 2 was fun. With bodies rested and
minds alert, maps ready and compasses set,
We were ready to face the world.
This experience is one we’ll never forget,
All our walks and all our talks,
All our mistakes and all our achievements,
Finally paid off.
Jaineet Gulabzada, Dua Zehra, Anjali
Bhambra, Manleen Arora (year 9)
Kimran Virk (year 9)
“DofE, where do I begin? It was one of the best experiences in my
life, it was hard but fun at the same time. I had an amazing group
who kept me safe and my partner constantly made me laugh. I
will never forget this experience or the memories I made. DofE
brought me closer to my friends and others who I wasn’t as close
to before”.
Arsida Dukaj (year 9)
“My experience of Duke of Edinburgh was something that I know
that I will always remember. I think it definitely took me out of
my comfort zone but sometimes you need to be taken out of your
comfort zone to be able to open up and try new things, hence
my applying for DofE an embarking on this amazing journey.
This also gave me the opportunity to meet and talk to people I
don’t usually talk to. This broadened my knowledge of others and
my surroundings. I think that the real perk in this award is the
volunteering as it extends my social skills and gave me a real
insight to the world of work”.
Nimra Anjum (year 9)
7

St Mary’s University Gymnastic Workshop
On
Friday 24th March 2017, the PE
department took 12 year 8 boys to
take part in a gymnastic workshop at St Mary’s
University. The purpose of the visit was to show PE
university students how to teach a gymnastic lesson
so they understand about health and safety, the set
up and how to work with students and be able to
do some micro teaching/coaching with students
themselves.
The workshop was extremely successful and
enjoyed by both students and our year 8 boys who
demonstrated what talented gymnasts they are.
Here is an account of one student’s experience of
the day.
Hamesh Rattu (Head of Year 8 and PE Teacher)
The atmosphere on the mini-bus was
electric. There was a buzz in the air in
anticipation of how much fun the trip
was going to be and the chance to go
to a university and see the facilities.
When we arrived at St Mary’s we
were organised into two groups and
we demonstrated our jumps to some
students who are potential P.E teachers
or coaches. If we completed the jumps to
the high standards of Mr. Notley and Mr.
Rattu (which were extremely high) then
we would proceed to a more complex
jump. The jumps we did were straight
jumps, tuck jump, pike jump and straddle
jump.
After a short break we were arranged
into three groups where we demonstrated
our jumps to the students who then gave
us feedback to better our jumps. They
were extremely helpful and kind and
motivational which helped us to improve
our jumps significantly. Rather than
giving us general tips, they took their
time to give us personal and individual
advice and techniques.
Fortunately we had time to have a
competition amongst my group. We had
to perform 5 different jumps. We were
rated by our peers on a scale of 1-10;
1 being the lowest and 10 being the
highest. It was great fun. Not to brag I
came in the top 3.
I am extremely fortunate and thankful
to have had a great opportunity like
this to represent Cranford Community
College. This trip was really fun and I
wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if I had
the chance. Thank you Mr. Notley and
Mr. Rattu for not only selecting me but
organising this great trip.
Ibrahim Hersi (year 8)
8

Modern World Languages Department - TATE Modern trip
On
Thursday
9th March 2017, the Modern World Languages Department organised a trip
to the Tate Modern gallery in London with fifteen students studying German, Spanish,
Urdu or Panjabi.
The Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London holding art from 1900 to the present day. It
is based in the former Bankside Power Station, on the South Bank.
We had the chance to walk across the famous Millennium Bridge from which we caught a glimpse of
several London landmarks before reaching the gallery and spending time immersing ourselves in the
world of stunning contemporary art.
During the visit students were involved in a range of engaging and culturally-stimulating activities. They
carried out tasks such as seeking specific works of art including by Salvador Dali and Max Ernst or
collecting information about a particular topic such as the Spanish Civil War or Joseph Beuys’ intriguing
creations. The activities were carried out on language-specific worksheets that were later handed in to
their teachers. Students were also given some time to walk freely around the gallery and admire some
other interesting pieces of art from other collections.
This is the second combined trip and its success has led its coordinator and the MWL Department to think
about future days out involving an even greater number of students.
Uxio Seijas and Kevin Scalia (Modern World Languages Department)
Languages fun to start the Week
Every Monday morning throughout this academic year, the Modern
World Languages Department opened its doors to a group of faithful
and enthusiastic year 7 gamers. We played various games including,
dominoes, cards, monopoly, “Guess Who” and snakes and ladders,
all in Spanish. Some students joined at the start just to get out of the
cold in winter but loved it so much they carried on until summer,
having fun and improving their language skills at the same time.
The club soon caught on and students who studied German even
turned up, and they learned Spanish along the way. Due to
the success of the club and everyone having so much fun this
will be something the MWL department will continue next
year and open to all key Stage 3 students in both Spanish
and German.
Matthew Nation-Tellery (Modern World Languages Department)
9

Cranford celebrates World Book Day and Book Week 2017
It
was that time of year again. We were ready
for a week of much-loved and anticipated
fun. Students were eagerly waiting for the start
to this action-packed week: a workshop, a poet,
an author, a creative writing workshop to “The
London Eye”, various competitions, a book shop
and a treasure hunt. It could only be World Book
Day and Book Week 2017.
It was a pleasure to put together an exciting
programme to capture and harness students’
excitement for these literacy initiatives. It is
always a challenge to come up with new ways
to make it better and more exciting than the
previous year; however, it all came together and
students were quick to get involved, even more
so when they found out the prizes that were on
offer.
Alex Scarrow is a bestselling junior science
fiction author. His first series TimeRiders has 9
books and tells of a team of three teenagers who
use time travel to tamper with history to prevent
tragedies. Two year 7 classes were lucky enough
to meet Alex and the rest of the students were
invited to a talk in the LRC after school. Alex
said; “The best part of my job is coming out to
meet students like these. It’s a joy to present and
read to such focused and well-behaved students”.
Molly Case is a spoken word artist, writer and
nurse born and brought up in south London She
achieved national recognition after performing
her poem “Nursing the Nation” at the Royal
College of Nursing, gaining over 350,000
views on YouTube in just a few months. Her
debut collection of poetry, “Underneath the
Roses Where I Remembered Everything” is out
this year with Burning Eye Books. Molly is a
multiple slam winner who was honoured to meet
the Queen at Buckingham Palace as part of the
Contemporary British Poetry celebrations. Molly
gave a talk to a year 12 English class and met
lots of students after school in the LRC for a
Spoken Word Workshop. Molly said “I had such
a fantastic time; the poetry the young people
created really blew me away”.
The following articles capture the amazing things
that took place and the enjoyment students from
the experience.
Mahavir Ladva (Library and Study Centres Manager)
10
The Alex
Scarrow
Visit
Alex Scarrow is an inspirational
author, who has written an awardwinning
series of books entitled
TimeRiders. TimeRiders does not only
show us the history of mankind, but
also the history that could’ve been.
Time lines are altered with just a few
words, which completely changes the
present, leading to alternative realities,
where say Hitler won WWII. What
would have happened then? Places like
London and New York most certainly
would not be the same.
The books are set in a universe where
time travel has already been invented in
the future, a machine that allows time
waves of change to occur. To stop this
small groups working independently
are recruited throughout history and
time to keep the timeline as it is.
This captivating series follows the
adventures of one of the groups.
Alex Scarrow, visited Cranford on
Tuesday 7th March 2017 and gave a
wonderful presentation. Even in the
short time he was there he excited the
entire room with witty jokes and an
amazing story. Everyone enjoyed his
reading and it was fantastic to be there.
Mohsin Ahmed (year 10)

Manga Workshop
for students
I
was asked by Mr Ladva to run a workshop during Book Week. He knows about
my talent as a Manga artist so I was really pleased to be asked. I have never
spoken in front of a large group like this so I was nervous. I created a PowerPoint
presentation. It included what Manga art is, the basics, famous Manga artists and
also some of my own art.
On the day I was happy to see there were lots of students who attended. I showed
them my drawings and we learnt how to draw a person step by step. Students were
amazed to see what they were capable of and the 6th form students did so too. I’m
glad I could share my passion with everyone. It was a wonderful experience.
Zahra Sadiq (year 10)
to pursue my dreams. The memory of her words
are still as vivid as the day I met her.
We also got to see her after school as she was
running a workshop. I learnt a lot about poetry
and how easy it is to structure a poem to make it
sound amazing. She gave us some examples from
people such as Eminem and gave us many points
on what good poems have and how you don’t
have to make poems rhyme. Hearing this from an
actual poet who does this for a living made me
feel more confident to write in this way.
The Molly Case Visit
When
I first walked into the LRC I
was shocked to see Molly Case
and I immediately bought her book “Underneath
the Roses Where I Remembered Everything” and
got it signed. I got to talk to her about many things,
such as what inspired her to become a poet. She
gave me advice about my own writing and how
to work your way up the ladder of success. She
was a very nice person and loved to talk with
us. She said her poems were all about personal
experiences and that you should try to write from
the heart. Her words of knowledge were very
inspiring and gripping. She has encouraged me
Molly set us a task to write our own poems about
our best day ever and she flew round the LRC
like an angel lending us some of her vast amount
of wisdom to help us with our own poems. It
was much easier writing a poem from one’s own
experiences.
I felt very privileged to have the opportunity of
meeting a famous poet and getting to talk to her.
I personally loved the visit and hope the school
has more visits from famous people as I believe it
helps students to get advice from someone who’s
actually been on the rollercoaster of becoming
what they are today. I enjoyed the visit very
much especially when we were allowed to take
a picture with her.
Isra Jadoon (year 7)
11

Creative Writing Workshop
to the London Eye
On
Thursday 9th March 2017, a warm spring day
in Hounslow 25 fortunate students prepared
themselves for a day at the London Eye, Jubilee
Gardens and an exhilarating four dimensional experience.
Before leaving, Mr Ladva, Ms Giga and Ms Ghazi had ensured all students had finished
reading an amazing children’s novel, “The London Eye Mystery” written by Siobhan
Dowd. The story is about a young boy named Ted who has autism. The book allows
us to see how Ted sees the world from a different perspective with his incredible
thinking. Ted’s cousin Salim comes to stay en-route to New York where he is moving
to with his mum. Salim gets a ticket to go on The London Eye, boards a capsule but
never comes back down.
At the start of the day each student was given their own booklet to fill out at various
places in London. It involved things like fun facts about each character, writing a
story in the same style as “The London Eye Mystery” and much more.
We took the tube to The Jubilee Gardens and spent around forty-five minutes soaking up the sun as
we completed some activities in our booklets and a storyboard about the most significant events in
the story. We then walked through a half-empty corridor, we were handed some black glasses. We
were ready for our 4D experience. We had front row seats to really capture the moment. Lights faded,
the noise of the busy city was drowned out, music began to play and before we knew it everyone
was waving their hands around in an attempt to capture the white seagulls floating in the open space
around us. We were amazed by the effects of the experience, snow, wind, fire and rain all in a video
about The London Eye.
After the excitement of the 4D experience, we made our way to the London Eye with a personal
London Eye assistant. She guided and shared fun facts with us whilst she pointed out the icons on the
London skyline. As we rose into the sky in a capsule, we started exploring the wonders of London.
We noted the Google headquarters which, in our opinion were the best set of buildings we saw. The
four buildings which were connected were all the colours of the Google logo and they stood out like
a sore thumb but in a good way. The assistant told us that in Google, employees use slides instead of
stairs to begin their day. We also saw Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral, The Shard and many
more exciting skyscrapers such as the Walkie-Talkie and the Gherkin. It was simply phenomenal, an
experience that we will never forget.
12
Ria Dhaliwal and Ayesha Kaur (year 7)

Playing the Critic at the National Theatre
“Beauty is but skin deep, ugly lies the bone; beauty dies and fades away, but ugly holds its own”.
I
was privileged to watch the prestigious premier of “Ugly Lies The
Bone” at the National Theatre on the South Bank in March 2017. This
opportunity arose after completing a critique of another play through the
MouseTrap Critics project undertaken by year 11 drama GCSE students
in the autumn. I was chosen from the group to take up this opportunity.
At first I felt out of place next to so many professional critics sitting
silently analysing the play. This was truly the most elite audience I’ve
ever sat alongside: people who write for the Metro, The Times and the
Daily Mail. I, on the other hand, had only written theatre reviews for
my drama coursework.
After the spectacular performance I discussed the key themes of society
imposing views of beauty upon women with the other critics and many
interesting points were raised. I thought to myself that this is what
theatre is truly about: discussing and understanding key problems in
our society. This is something I’ve never discussed so much and this
experience has clearly proven that drama is essential for the younger generation, as it is the only
subject that creatively challenges nearly every problem in society. This is important as many people
don’t understand key problems such as racism and sexism. To conclude, I am truly grateful to Ms
Sethi for providing me with such an opportunity.
Haashim Nisar (year 11)
“The Kite Runner” at the Wyndham’s Theatre
On
Monday 23rd January 2017 the Drama Department took students from key stages 3 and 4 to
see “The Kite Runner” at the Wyndham’s Theatre in the West End. This production, based
on the internationally-renowned novel and award-winning film, tells the story of Amir and Hassan
who are inseparable friends growing up in Kabul. As an adult Amir, now living in California, remains
haunted by a childhood incident in which he betrayed Hassan’s trust. When he learns that the Taliban
has murdered Hassan and wife, Amir returns to his homeland to learn the fate of the couple’s son.
Here is a review by two year 10 drama students who attended the production:
“The Kite Runner” was an amazing piece of theatre. It was a shocking and emotional tale told us through the power of
the actors’ portrayal so we shared their experience. We have never been so moved by a piece of theatre to the point that
our eyes were welling up with tears as we empathised fully with Hassan’s character and the whole rollercoaster of his
emotions. It made us gasp, made us giggle, made us cry, made us clench our fists in anger, made us hide our eyes behind
our shaking hands. We loved the cultural vibe you get from the very beginning and the way it is never lost throughout the
whole play was impressive. “The Kite Runner” in a way is also an eye-opening performance that shows how things like
this still happen in today’s modern day society and we can’t and shouldn’t be oblivious to it. Overall the play enabled us
to go home and think about all of the things that are happening around the world and to give us just one moment to really
appreciate the things we have and open our eyes to the real world we live in. “The Kite Runner” was an awe-inspiring
play filled with many emotions and lots of culture. We were speechless at the end of it”.
Shanan Bhamra and Maisie Mullen (year 10)
13

Arts and Culture Evening - A place for deep thought and
Cranford’s annual Arts and Culture Evening was
held on Wednesday 12th July 2017 and was
attended by students, staff, parents and guests,
all of whom had come along to enjoy and celebrate the
stunning ADT exhibition, our First Story anthology
readings and hear music performed by our talented
music students.
Because of the turbulent times we live in and the
uncertainty of where the arts stand in schools, it is now
more than ever we need the arts in our schools, in our
communities and in our world. We are experiencing
challenging times, when we all need to express what we
feel and what better way to do so than through the arts:
visual and performing. We need the arts to give young
people the forum for expression, and a safe place for
deep thought and reflection.
Our evening this year was about that expression: of
joy, of fear, of celebration, of devastation and of hope.
Sometimes our expressions may not be complete, may
not be fully formed or developed, but the fact that we
can express and imagine is what makes us human and it
is this that will bring about community cohesion.
Completely Incomplete Thoughts is an anthology of new writing
by the First Story students at Cranford Community College
who took part in creative-writing workshops led by writerin-residence
Ross Raisin. First Story believes there is dignity
and power in every person’s story, and here you’ll find young
people expressing themselves in their own unique voices.
We hope you enjoy this collection.
Featuring writing by:
Changing lives through writing
Cranford Community College Completely Incomplete Thoughts
Faisa Ali • Halima Elmi • Selma Essadok • Prabhleen Ghattoray
Navneet Ghttora • Manriat Gill • Jaijiten Hundal
Ria Kalia • Ajeet Khela • Ishika Mehra • Calia Mohamed
'First Story is a very exciting idea –
writing can liberate and strengthen
young people’s sense of themselves
as almost nothing else can.'
PHILIP PULLMAN
Author of His Dark Materials
Cover illustration by Eloise Oui
Cover design by Euan Monaghan
Typesetting by Avon DataSet Ltd
20170516 First Story Cranford-v2.indd All Pages
FIRST STORY
www.firststory.co.uk £10.00
In this time of fast-paced technological advancement
and young people bombarded with so much visual
imagery, a quiet experience of an art form can help us
to feel safe and connected. To connect with ourselves
and who we are as part of the whole picture and what
our responsibilities are within that picture.
Mr Kevin Prunty, Executive Headteacher, talked about
the need for innovation and imagination with the arts
in school and how Cranford was leading the way with
some inspirational new approaches to arts in September
2017, to keep them live and meaningful for our students.
It is events like this that make us feel part of the bigger
community, where people come together and talk about
what they have seen, heard and experienced. Events
like this are not just a celebration of the immense talent
and skills but an opportunity to connect. The writing
although some of it dark celebrated the maturity and the
imagination of our students. They gave voice to their
thoughts, their desires, their feelings and their fears and
they emerged strong. The art and design work echoed
these feelings and the presentation of the Tracy Fletcher
Award gave credence to the talented and hard work of
the students. It was truly a wonderful evening, where
the arts came together and celebrated that voice.
Seema Sethi (Head of Drama, School and Community Arts)
14

eflection
Completely
Incomplete
Thoughts
An Anthology by the First Story Group at
Cranford Community College
Edited and Introduced by Ross Raisin
30/05/2017 11:22:34
15

National Science and Engineering Week 2017
National Science and Engineering Week, 13th-17th March 2017, focused on the theme of interactive
STEM activities. This is the fourth year Cranford’s Science Department has hosted the event
and once again it proved to be a popular and inspiring week for our young scientists. The many
exciting and varied activities included a challenge a day, a science fair, year 7 assembly (by year 11
students), key stage 3 lessons and STEM ambassador visits. Thank you to all those many students
who took part in the Science Week and congratulations to all the amazing prize winners.
Assembly
The
week began with an assembly to
year 7 by year 11 students, Majid
Anjum (11Z), Hana Khan (11V), Davinder
Gill (11U) and Navneet Brar (11Z) who
worked really hard to prepare and deliver
an assembly for the year 7 cohort on the
challenging science topic of osmosis. They
invented their own demos and executed the
assembly with real skill and confidence.
“The assembly was on diffusion and I
enjoyed it because they did a practical
to show us how it worked. They also
interacted with us by asking questions”.
16
Muskaan Sanghera (year 7)

Key stage 3 science lessons
Year 7 and 8 classes had special science week
themed lessons that required them to develop
a ‘lander’ that would be able to protect their ‘rover’
when landing on Mars. They had to make a model of
their lander and their rover was an egg.
They spent a couple of
lessons trying to build their
landers out of cardboard,
straws, string, plastic bags,
sellotape and cups working
to a budget of 100 credits.
During the third lesson
they tested their landers to
see which group protected
their egg the best whilst spending the least amount
of credits on material. Some groups even were even
able to build their own rover as well as lander.
“It was a great lesson learning about
rovers and landers. We have had so
much fun in making the project. It was
an excellent way of communicating
and working as a team. Our design
was a cardboard box with cotton
balls underneath to give it a smoother
landing and also to protect the egg from
cracking. We added a polystyrene cup,
which held the egg in place. We added
cardboard walls so the cup doesn’t fall
out. This was a successful design, as the
egg didn’t crack”.
Maryam Ayub (year 8)
“We started off designing
the lander and the rover.
I didn’t even know what
a rover was up until
this lesson. For our
parachute, Maryam and I
were thinking about using
tissue paper, but when we
tried to put it on, it was
very thin and we knew it
would rip easily. We then
decided to use the balloon
because it can carry
weight without breaking.
Our design wasn’t the best
as some of it fell apart in
the air but it kept the egg
unbroken”.
Sumaya Elmi (year 8)
17

Challenge a Day
Throughout the week, we
abandoned our morning
experiments and created
a set of interactive activities
entitled ‘Challenge a Day’.
This included challenges such
as making a tower from dry
spaghetti, marshmallows that
can support an egg, making
floating gardens and the
students conducted various new
experiments that had a wow
factor. Thursday was National
Demo day. The science staff
demonstrated how to not pop a
balloon, canon fire and the Van
de Graf generator.
Riddles were also given to the
students to solve including:
1. ‘You have to measure exactly
4 litres of water, but you only
have a 3-litre bottle and a 5-litre
bottle. How do you do it?
2. ‘When I’m young I’m tall
When I’m old I’m short
When I’m alive I glow
Because of your breath I die
What am I?’
Well done to Amy Agboola
(10T), who was award a prize
for demonstrating enthusiasm
in science, as well as really
helping and teaching the
younger year groups.
“I took part in science
week with year 7 students
helping them to understand
the experiments we were
carrying out. One of the
challenges that we did was
using balloons, hot water,
cold water and a bottle.
We used them to test if
heat expanded the balloon.
This challenge helped us to
understand how convection
worked”.
Amy Agboola (year 10)
18

Science Fair
On
Wednesday 15th March 2017
between 3:30-4:30, students
hosted a science fair. All students who
attend the STEM club took part in the
science fair, demonstrating experiments
of their choice. Other students volunteered
and came along with their own homemade
inventions, whilst others manned
stalls that had been invented/created by
Ms Foale and the technicians.
STEM Ambassador Visits
The
year 12 & 13 physicists and chemists were
given the opportunity to listen to two
STEM ambassadors. The first speaker Chris Haley is
a hedge fund capital investor. He gave the students an
insight into the new STEM advancements as well as a
glimpse of how the finance industry operates. It was
so encouraging to see the year 12 students take a keen
interest in all he had to say.
Chris Haley said; “I have spent the last several years
working with and investing in technology businesses.
I specialise in selecting, mentoring and investing in
businesses with cutting edge technology as the basis for
their offering. Although it’s not my expertise area I have
been coding myself for over 15 years and I am a strong
advocate of encouraging more kids into the STEM
fields, in particular girls into the field of technology.”
The second speaker, Cyril Molony, is an engineer with
special educational needs and is on the autistic spectrum.
His speech was focused on changing the perceptions of
what engineering is, as well as promoting a growth
mindset by sharing his story. The students were visibly
inspired by his speech.
Kristy Foale (Science Department)
All the stalls at the fair were manned
by students who were experts in their
chosen science field. The Science
Museum literally came to Cranford and
students who attended left having had an
interactive experience as well as feeling
inspired by their peer’s achievements.
Prizes were awarded for the best
inventions which included: joint winners -
Angel Manchanda 12V with Taqdees Tahir
12X (dry ice experiments) and Armeen
Junaid 12Y runner up (heart dissection).
There were also a model car with a motor
(made out of a bottle), an electrocuting
kit, Michelson’s interferometer, a
gold leaf demo, a cloud chamber, an
erupting volcano (every science fair
has to have this), a lava lamp, projectile
motion taught by year 12 students, a
standing wave demonstration, Chladni
plates demonstration, supersaturation
experiments, marble runs, blue bottle
experiments, glow in the dark slime,
an electromagnet demonstration and a
structure of the Earth model.
“The Science Fair was fantastic. Seeing
children having fun made me happy. The
different experiments that were going on made
me want to learn about science even more”.
Janat Ahmed (year 10)
“The engineer who came was very inspiring, he gave me a
new perspective on the career path I’m aiming towards”.
Raul Plahe (year 12)
“The STEM ambassador’s visit was extremely helpful and
interesting and allowed us to see how physics and technology
can work hand in hand to create a successful business”.
Onkardeep Sahota (year 13)
“The science fair was the best time I have ever
had at Cranford, and being someone who made
an actual science invention was an honour. I
showed my homemade car with a real working
turbine with the help of the science technicians.
Everyone admired my invention. I saw so many
different and unique science inventions from
year 7 students all the way up to the 6th form.I
cannot wait till the next year”.
Naffay Azaan Mahmood (year 7)
19

ENO
National Saturday Art and Design Club
There
are so many facets to the National Saturday Art and
Design Club at Cranford Community College which
deserve to be celebrated, and it’s difficult to address them all. The most
prominent project of the year ran over three months spanning six weeks
altogether with Ruth Paton and the English National Opera. This project
culminated in the display of a large 3D scaled version of The Winter’s
Tale ‘Sicilia-meets-Bohemia’ sculptural landscape.
For this project, club members worked across an array of art forms, media
and techniques which has culminated in the dramatic model set shown at
the exhibition evening and the End of Summer Show.
As a part of the project, we were invited to attend the private show for The Winter’s Tale at the ENO
Coliseum. Together with this fantastic opportunity and the theatre set design techniques Ruth imparted,
we aimed to encourage a dialogue and critique concerning the play to comment upon the set design, the
themes and concepts of the play, the costume design, the sculptural elements and the performing arts
techniques involved (delivered by the artists themselves). In addition to nurturing each club member’s
creativity, informing them of the pathways available within the creative industries, exploring how a
production is created and who works behind the scenes, each club member was encouraged to discuss
their experience as an audience member and as an artist. The club members’ responses
20

were inspired and documented through their design work of creating 3D mood-boards in support of
their collaboration with the entire club to create the scaled landscape of ‘Sicilia-meets-Bohemia’. The
club members thrived under a three-month deadline to produce such outstanding designs mimicking
the landscape of the ENO’s version of The Winter’s Tale.
In addition to the English National Opera project, we were joined by BioArtist Mellisa Fisher during
the end of the year. Mellisa’s “Design Your Own Microbiome” workshop encouraged club members
to learn about the invisible world on their skin. The workshop allowed club members to engage with
the invisible world through sculptural and painting techniques, alongside collage.
The most memorable moment for the club was definitely the logo design workshop I created in support
of a visit from local MP Seema Malhotra. Seema Malhotra MP set a competition for the club to design
the new logo for Hounslow Promise, a new initiative based on the belief that all children are capable of
learning and thriving and the whole community shares a responsibility to help young people succeed.
We were incredibly proud to learn that two of our club members’ design had been chosen to feature
as the prominent logo for the programme.
Throughout this year, the club members have consistently shown their incredible potential and
enthusiasm regarding the creative arts. I congratulate all club members for such a beautiful End
of Year show at Somerset House last month and I am incredibly proud to have been
a part of this fantastic club and support such talented, creative and
articulate individuals who I am certain will flourish in
whatever path they decide to take in life.
By Aminder Virdee (Saturday Art Club tutor)
21

Spark! @Youth Talk 2017
Spark! @Youth Talk 2017, formerly known as TedTalks was held
on Wednesday 1st March 2017 at West Thames College. The event
is an opportunity for young people to have a voice and talk about
a topic or theme about which they are passionate. Two of our year
12 students, Lucy Tirahan and Kulbir Maras represented Cranford
at this event and spoke eloquently about their chosen topics.
The following pieces outline why they chose the topic and an extract from their speeches. If you would
like to hear their speeches in full, go to the YouTube link to access both speeches.
“The Power of Storytelling”
The topic I chose to speak about was “The Power of Storytelling”. I wanted to reach out to as many
people as possible on how important storytelling is. Its effect is subtle yet powerful. The feedback
I’ve received has been overwhelming and I hope they’ve learned that storytelling is important because
of its undeniable power to change lives. Here is an extract from my speech.
Link: https://youtu.be/oznQpfar_L4
“What is storytelling? Storytelling, in its simplest form, is to tell or write
stories. They are stories that could be true or fictional. Storytelling is
such a valuable form of human expression, an expression that, to me,
gets overlooked because in life we tell stories all the time, it just goes
undetected and underappreciated. We have conversations all the time, but
you know what consists in our conversations? Stories. People’s stories.
Our own stories. No matter how small the talk is or how entertaining it
is, we’re sharing stories, we tend to care because there’s a point to them.
There’s something we’re trying to get across... ...Storytelling is important
because it bonds us to our humanity. It shows us where we came from,
and tell us where we going in the future. It gives us a meaning to our
lives because our lives like stories, have a beginning, middle and end.
We need storytellers, we need them now more than ever. They make us human beings. Storytelling makes us emotionally
feel what other human beings haven’t felt and feelings they have felt. It can inspire a generation, it can entertain, teach,
predict and convey splendour. Everyone’s story is unique... ...That is the power of storytelling”.
“Refugees in Crisis”
Kulbir Maras (year 12)
I was really grateful to take part in the Spark @Youth Talk event to speak about ‘The Future of
Refugees’. When given the theme ‘Youth Voices’ and ‘The Future’ I wanted to steer away from the
technology route and speak about a crisis that we are becoming desensitised to through our media. It
was an incredible experience to give the speech alongside other students delivering equally powerful
messages; I hope through my speech I have inspired people to pay more attention to our refugee crisis
as this is a problem we can no longer afford to ignore. Here are some extracts from my speech.
Link: https://youtu.be/kZKTTJ6wvP4 :
“What is the future of refugees who have had their future stolen?
...According to UNHCR just over 60 million people have been forced to
flee their homes... ...Is liking a Facebook video really enough to show
your support of refugees? ...If you’re an adult, challenge your peers when
they make generalised comments. If you’re a journalist, start using your
platform for people who no longer have a voice. And if you’re human,
volunteer once a fortnight at your local refugee shelter – they are there,
you just need to find the time... ...How are we going to use our voices
and our future to ensure that, even though refugees may have had their
future stolen, they do not have to remain victims of theft?”
Lucy Tirahan (year 12)
22

National Theatre “Twelfth Night” Student Conference
On
Tuesday 21st
March 2017 the
year 10 drama
GCSE group attended a Student
Conference for ‘Twelfth Night’
at the National Theatre in
London’s Waterloo. ‘Twelfth
Night’ is on the drama GCSE
specification as a set text so
this was a perfect opportunity
for students to explore the play further with input
from industry professionals.
On arrival we were greeted by the friendly NT
Education Team and took our seats in the Olivier
Theatre ready for the first session. Dr Nick Walton
from ‘Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust’ gave an exciting
and in-depth study of what life would have been like
in Shakespeare’s times. This was then followed by a
panel discussion led by Jane Ball and members of the
NT Creative Teams. Here we got to listen to Soutra
Gilmour, set designer for Twelfth Night, explaining
her vision for the show and the process that designers
go through to bring a play to life.
After lunch we were introduced to some of the cast of
‘Twelfth Night’ and took part in a workshop exploring
the 1st scene of the play. Tamara Lawrance, who
played Viola, spoke to us about how she approached
the character of Viola.
In-between the conference and the show
in the evening we took a walk to the Tate
Modern and immersed ourselves in the
‘Anywhen’ exhibition by Philippe Parreno
commissioned by Hyundai. ‘Anywhen’ is
a site-specific exhibition that continuously
changed with moving elements, light
configurations and sound environments.
Having spent a day enjoying arts and culture,
we were pretty hungry, luckily for us there
was a Nando’s and Wagamama’s nearby
who were happy to host 16 students from
Hounslow.
The last thing on the agenda was to watch
‘Twelfth Night’ with Tamsin Grieg. This is
what some of our students had to say about
the production: “Theatre trips in support of
the study of a Shakespeare text are essential
to student understanding and to their ability
to realise that something written hundreds
of years before can still be relevant today.
Meeting and working with professional
actors, designers and directors enhance their
confidence to be creative in the way they
interpret text and take a play from page to
stage and their ability to write as an expert
when answering exam questions”.
Deepak Bahra (Drama Department)
“Twelfth Night’ was honestly one of the best performances I have
watched. It was light-hearted and funny. The gender blind casting was a
very interesting take on the characters in the play. Overall, it was a fun,
colourful and modern twist on a traditional Shakespearean text”.
Maisie Mullen (year 10)
“I have no words; the play was absolutely mind blowing. Before the play,
we had been invited to a student conference joining many other schools.
It was a chance of a lifetime as we were able to explore Shakespeare’s
traditional play, work with cast members and observe all the creativity
that took place backstage. Overall, the trip was phenomenal”.
Nabeeha Ali (year 10)
23

National Writing Day Poetry Competition
This
Grey Carpet Glitz
year, First Story ran the first ever National Writing Day in the U.K.
and Cranford students were fortunate enough to take part. We ran
two poetry competitions in school and another national competition lead by the
Young Writers Association. One
competition task was to write a
poem which could be said in one
breath. This meant writers had to
avoid using punctuation and say
the poem aloud without running
out of breath. There were some
lovely poems submitted. Thank
you to those who entered.
Another poetry competition
asked students to write a ‘Thank
You’ poem to something/
someone that they do not
usually say thank you to,
however, there was a catch.
Students were not allowed to make clear who the
poem was saying thank you to; the listeners and readers
had to work this out by listening to the clues given in
the poem. Again, these poems were brilliant. Thank you
to those who entered this competition too.
e want ever yone, ever ywhere to get writing!
www.nationalwritingday.org.uk
A collaborative campaign from
First Stor y and partners across the UK.
The winner for both poetry competitions was Ayesha
Kaur in 7Y. Well done to her. She is an avid reader and
since great readers make great writers, she was given the
opportunity to select a book of her choice to take away
as a prize. Here are her poems for you to enjoy.
Sahrish Shaikh (English Department and
First Story Lead)
Immortal
Tick tock tick tock poof and
I’m in Alton towers in the queue to
Empower the smiler to
Empower the longest
Ride in the world exactly a hundred and
Eighty-four seconds and the record
For the most amount of
Loops in the world
And a record for a bone
Shattering ruthless accident but
Hey no big deal and I’m pretty
sure I’ll make it back in one
Piece of a decapitated body which
Is the best I could wish
For and slowly the queue keeps
Snipping off as the evil
Smiler clown cuts us apart to
Drag our bodies into the arena of
Savage death as smiler spirals hypnotise
Me I find myself in the front row clenching
Onto the ride as the monster ejects
Into the sky for the
Dip and then we pierce through
The air like a bullet as my
Flesh clings onto me
Being sucked back but somehow
I have made it to the end and now
I can say
I conquered the smiler
Ayesha Kaur (year 7)
Birds poo on you every day,
Cigarettes squished on you that decay
Chewing gums splattered like dots of paint
That’s something you don’t deserve
because you are the foundation of the world
I want to say thank you to you today
for accepting our feet anyway
You reduce the friction on our cars
Regardless of how dirty they are
Yet we punish you with arrogance
And taint your so complex designs.
People rebuke you for the cracks you have
but little do they know
the intricate beauty of yours
So elegantly you form grey velvet Carpets for us
As we venture the world with a fuss.
Ayesha Kaur (year7)
A Match Made In Heaven
My gratitude is beyond words,
Because your deeds are so priceless,
That anything else would be an underestimation
And saying that would be absurd.
I live only because of you
And inhale your wholeheartedly gifted air.
I exhale your return gift,
Keeping you alive,
Gifting you back with air.
You are my lolly to my pop.
My cup to my cake.
My pop to my corn.
You rule my garden,
Your friends and cousins are in every branch of the world
Also ruling the empire from which you belong.
A thank you from the heart.
Ayesha Kaur (year 7)
24

Ex Cranford student returns to
run a workshop with year 10
Nida
Mazen Sarfraz (some of you may
know her as Nida Bhatti), is not
only an ex-student, but she is also an established
young author. As part of the National Writing Day
initiative this year, she kindly offered to come to
Cranford to run a writing workshop and discuss
her novel with year 10 students. Her novel, ‘A
Tale Of Two Lands’, has recently been published
and this was something that was of great interest
to the students. Nida explained what inspired
her to write her novel and asked the students
to use a variety of the same materials that she
found inspirational to write their own short
pieces. It quickly became an intense competition
too. There were 3 prizes to be won and the winners were judged by
Ms Brooks and Nida herself. There was a wide range of story lines
developed from all the materials given, ranging from something
mystical and magical to something as poignant and relevant such as
being a refugee.
1st prize went to Waleed Ali (10Y), 2nd prize went to Sanna Rafiq
(10W) and 3rd prize was awarded to Hunerdeep Sidhu (10Z). It was
a great workshop which the students thoroughly enjoyed; some even
left the classroom saying ‘I think I might write a book of my own
now’. Each winning student won either a signed and dedicated copy
of the novel or other signed and dedicated merchandise.
Nida also ran a small WFactor session with some keen year 9 students.
They too produced some amazing writing and won some signed copies
of the book.
Sahrish Shaikh (English Department)
“You’re safe.
No one will find you”
The words of reassurance rang out from
across the claustrophobic lorry as dozens
of half-starved, exhausted yet hopeful
people struggled to find a spot where no one
could find them. These people had given up
everything to finally reach their destination.
They walked, swam and ran halfway across
the world just to be in this lorry. No one was
going to fail now.
“Just be quiet and when we start moving,
don’t make a sound,” Yusef whispered to
his little brother Ishmaeel. Yusef knew that
they could not afford to be caught; they had
lost too much and the fear of failure would
hopefully silence Ishmaeel.
Yusef heard of the stories of what happened
to people who had been caught and he was
determined to not let Ishmaeel be denied a
future.
Waleed Ali (year 10)
A Tale of Two Lands
On
Wednesday 21st June 2017, a workshop was
organised for a year 10 English class, with
N.M. Sarfraz, author of ‘A Tale of Two Lands’. Firstly,
she introduced herself and spoke about her book and
her journey to becoming a writer. She then read her
prologue which had an interesting storyline. We were
asked to create a piece of writing about an image
which was given to us. She was very encouraging and
gave us tips to include in our writing. We were then
given examples of songs and poems which led to the
next task where we had to produce a two-sided A4
page of writing from our favourite from the examples
given. There were three prizes which were awarded
to the winners. First and second prizes were a signed
copy of N.M. Sarfraz’s book and third prize was also
a signed notebook from her. Overall it was a very
inspiring session which we all enjoyed.
Prabhleen Ghattoray (year 10)
25

On
Jack Petchey Awards 2017
Wednesday 24th May 2017 the annual awards evening for the Jack Petchey prize winners was
held at Brentford Watermans Centre. The evening, attended by prize winners, parents, staff and
dignitaries from the Jack Petchey Foundation and Hounslow borough, was a wonderful celebration of young
people who were being recognised for achieving something outstanding or for going beyond the expected.
Each winner receives £250 to spend on an area of interest or need for their school. It was a truly inspirational
event and one in which Cranford students continue to shine.
Kevin Biggs (Senior Teacher)
Haroon Lukka (13 y/o) - Haroon has been nominated because of his extensive contribution to the local community
through the Heston West Big Local. He has worked on numerous projects and supported various media projects and
school events. He has been recognised for his independent learning style, including learning of the piano.
Spent money on: Maths revision books for students who cannot afford them.
Jessica Atouguia (16 y/o) - Jessica has been nominated for her contribution to drama, supporting productions,
directing performances and running the production group for WFactor. She has been a teaching assistant in drama
and has led period 0 sessions. Jessica has participated in many charity events to help raise awareness for cancer
and poverty in Africa.
Spent money on: Cranford Park Nature project.
Teodor Jevtic (16 y/o) - Teodor has been nominated for his contributions to the music department, for numerous
performances and supporting the running of such events. He has supported students with their learning and his
amazing piano playing is admired.
Spent money on: music department.
Haashim Nisar (16 y/o) - Haashim has been nominated for his contributions to drama and representing the school
at external events such as UCL Urban Scholars programme and ‘The Battle of Ideas’. Haashim is very interested
in science and has taken part in numerous science projects. He successfully completed his work experience with
Mayfair Solicitors, as he wants to be a barrister. Haashim was elected as the class representative in year 7 and he
has kept this role throughout the years. This year he is part of the Prom Committee.
Spent money on: Shakespeare in Schools Project.
Gurshaan Ghattoray (13 y/o) - Gurshaan has been nominated for his contributions to sport and extra-curricular
activities. Gurshaan was an ambassador at the Junior Citizenship event and took part in Cranford’s Got Science
Talent event. Gurshaan helps at open evenings, participates in charity events such as the Big Local; he plays an
Indian instrument and is in the cricket and rugby team.
Spent money on: PE sports and geography department.
Arjun Sandhu (14 y/o) - Arjun has spent his free time for the last 2 ½ years with the ASD Centre. He has used
the ethos of the Centre “always showing kindness and respect” to embody these principles and guide the incoming
students in years 7 and 8 to follow these axioms. He is a solid and dependable role model and has helped a new year
7 student to set up a highly popular WFactor activity for which his passion has remained undented over this whole
academic year. The boys in the Centre view his continued friendship to be that of a “brother”.
26
Spent money on: Train Club and Picasso Centre.

ICT & Computing News
In
ICT & Computing we have been experimenting this year with independent
learning projects. Year 9 students have been allowed to choose, plan
and follow a topic of interest for them to support their interests or career
plans. Students have chosen to pursue software skills in programs such as
Adobe PhotoShop and PremierePro or even to undertake online programs of
learning in a wide range of topics from an Introduction to Psychology to Business
Accounting Fundamentals. Students have achieved fantastic results this year. Year
9 grades are higher than ever and we are very proud of their accomplishments. They
produced some outstanding work along with evidence of learning through diaries
and presentations.
Barbara Lodge (Head of ICT & Computing)
“The Independent Learning Project in ICT was
absolutely amazing, as we were given the freedom
to learn anything we wanted to. This project helped
us build up our research and design skills, as
well as helping us to become more independent in
general. For the past year, I have really wanted to
learn Python, which is a programming language;
when I found out that we had this opportunity, I
was ecstatic. This project also helped people like
me, who want to do Computer Science as a GCSE
subject. I learned enough program skills
to be able to program a
chatbot that could hold
conversations. I was
really proud of my final
product and I am really
excited to learn more
next year”.
Brahmnoor Brar (year 9)
“Participating in the Independent Learning Project
allowed me to broaden my horizons and enhance my skill
set. For my Independent Learning Project, I decided to
complete a variety of First Aid courses as I think First
Aid is an essential skill for life and can be utilised to
help others. My aim was to learn something new which
I can then implement usefully into real life to give back
to the community around me. I completed five different
courses; Basic First Aid Course, Advanced First Aid
Course, Anaphylaxis Course, CPR Course and
a Paediatric Course. After completing each
course, I received a certificate to certify my
achievement. Overall, I think the Independent
Learning Project was an amazing opportunity
and should be incorporated into the school
curriculum more as it allows pupils to excel
and learn something new whilst boosting
their independence and knowledge”.
Rajvir Sran (year 9)
“In ICT, I chose to do a topic related to what I see
myself doing in the future, accounting and finance. I
completed an online course, on a site recommended by
my teacher, called Accounting Foundations. This course
gave me a great insight into my career path and I believe
that the project was a very good way to expand my
knowledge of topics outside IT whilst still using the skills
that we have learnt in years 7 and 8 on report writing
and formal document skills”.
Prabhdeep Nijjar (year 9)
“In ICT this year we spent half a term on an Independent
Learning Project. I found this a really exciting opportunity
as I have always wanted to learn how to use PhotoShop
to edit and manipulate digital images. I loved learning
different techniques and my favourite was learning how
to combine different fonts with images to produce text
made out of different backgrounds. I really enjoyed being
responsible for myself and being allowed to choose the
techniques I wanted to learn”.
Zaafar Ahmed (year 9)
27

European Commission Commemoration Day in Brussels
28
In
February 2017, we were approached by the European
Commission to be involved in the 13th European
Remembrance Day Victims of Terrorism service, to be held in
Brussels on Friday 10th March 2017. In response to this invitation
we organised a poetry competition. We received numerous pieces
for our consideration and after a lengthy shortlisting process, the
winning poem “Boxes” by Lucy Tirahan (year 12), chosen by the
EU, was read during the service. Lucy and Ms Shaikh represented
Cranford and attended the day.
Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher - Community)
Boxes
When I was five
You took a box
And from it you made a car
When I was eight
I fell during our water fight
And on my elbow formed a scar
When I was eleven
We slept in our den
And our last words were goodnight
But when I was twelve
I had to carry you in a box
That you would forever lie
And when we lay it down
The water was no longer in the gun
But spilling from my eyes
Because this gun was more fatal
And in my heart, lives a scar
That forever asks why
Because this is no longer child’s play
And to half of me
I had to say goodbye
Lucy Tirahan (year 12)
“Going to Brussels to read
my poem for the European
Commission was an incredible
experience that I am really
grateful for. It was the 13th
Annual Day for Commemorating
Victims of Terrorism around
the world and whilst the
survivors’ testimonies were
distressing, it was also inspiring
to see their strength and how
communities had coped with
a devastating event. It was
a privilege to attend and be
given the opportunity to share
my work at that level - it is
definitely an experience I
will never forget. I also got
to meet the EU Commissioner
who was incredibly kind and
supportive of my work as well
as many other members of
the European Parliament. As
well as testimonies, there were
also psychologists delivering
research conducted on the
aftermath of a terrorist attack
and political leaders who were
to discuss new plans to cope
with attacks. Being there made
me realise how important it is
to discuss terrorism on a global
level to ensure that countries
can work together, rather
than letting these events divide
them. I hope they continue
to hold these annual days of
commemoration as they are
essential in ensuring safety
amongst a population. I would
like to thank the European
Commission for inviting me, Mr
Fraser for his correspondence
and organising our travel and
Miss Shaikh for taking me – you
all enabled me to take part in a
moving experience and for that I
am very grateful”.
Lucy Tirahan (year 12)

Lucy Tirahan represents Cranford in Brussels Victims
of Terrorism Remembrance Day Service
Being invited to visit Brussels and accompany Lucy to the EU Commission was an opportunity
that I did not want to miss. The entire trip and occasion are things that I will not forget. Not
only was it an opportunity to visit a new place and support Lucy in her task of reading out her
poem at the EU Commission, but it was also an opportunity to understand the first-hand experiences
of those affected by terrorism, to be able to comprehend what local European governments were doing
about such attacks and how they were changing their policies to adapt to the support needed by the
victims of terrorism. Many of the stories and experiences that were shared were by the family members
of those who were killed by terrorist attacks; it was a very sobering and humbling experience and
reminded me of how important it is to come together as a community and to support one another in
the good times and the bad. Everything that was said and felt came from the heart – very much like
Lucy’s own poem. It’s full of emotion and was perfectly suited to match the occasion. As a teacher,
it was a very proud moment to see Lucy take the stand and share her words with the world but it was
even more amazing to hear the praise that she received from the European delegates, officials and
from those who were there to share their experiences of terrorism. It was truly a great opportunity.
Sahrish Shaikh (English teacher)
Dear Alan,
Lucy was great. I think she is a very
inspiring young woman and I am sure
she has a very bright future ahead of her.
Thank you so much for the arrangements,
I hope she and her mentor enjoyed it.
We appreciate all the efforts from your
side and hope to continue working
together.
Warm regards,
Ms. Pomme Woltman | RAN Centre of
Excellence
29

On
Thursday 26th January 2017, another group
of beaming youngsters embarked on their first
and most definitely not last visit to the US Embassy to
attend a “Media Minded” event, run in collaboration with
Shout Out UK.
The event started with an informal mingling activity
centred around various snippets of news headlines or
tweets about real events; students discussed whether they
liked or disliked the headline and whether would share
it online, some of the students were amazed that some of the headlines were actually real news, for
instance: “Is 18 legged killer squid being weaponised by Putin?”
A welcome session by the founder and director of Shout Out UK made use of the familiar clickers to
get an immediate survey of crowd habits, including how many current events did you discuss today/
share online today. The power of the media was highlighted as an older problem than perhaps assumed
by our youngsters. In particular, attention was drawn to The Sun front page the day after the 1992
election result, proclaiming “It’s the Sun wot won it” as the Tories won an election many thought
would be a Labour victory.
The following break out sessions allowed Cranford students to share their ideas on the Russia and
Ukraine conflict; students worked in smaller groups on different news stories to discuss the bias,
intention and sentiments that could be behind different news. All 12 students were assuredly confident
when presenting their findings to the rest of their group in an articulate and persuasive manner.
It was Lucy Tirahan who was selected to represent Cranford in the whole group feedback and though
I myself maybe accused of bias, I felt Lucy’s summation of the findings of her overall group was the
best on the day. She was eloquent with her words and demeanour, as she seemingly effortlessly picked
out the most pertinent points that all the mini-teams within her group had made in the previous 45
minutes. She was the first up on stage but this did not phase her and I, along with the entire audience,
was extremely impressed by her poise.
Mehmoona Yousaf (Senior Teacher - Cultural Diversity)
Media Minded Event
“The media have persisted to be the most well-defined platform championing issues since the age of the printing press
and, for just as long, has been at the forefront of doubt, i.e. regarding poor critique portrayed as a consequence of
political agenda, spin and censorship pertaining to contemporary issues.
Our trip to the U.S Embassy shed light on such issues, giving us the necessary tools, information and skills to identify such
mechanisms, in turn accentuating them and preventing the spread of misinformation through the media - essentially curing
the “Mass Zombification of Ukraine” along with taming Russia’s “Killer Octopus” through the simple understanding of
sensationalism, exaggeration, triangulation and, of course, “a pinch of salt”.
Al-Enzeli Ramji (year 12)
“This opportunity was really useful as it enabled me to further increase my knowledge of the variety
of factors that impacted on the US Election result. We were a part of a workshop which required us to
analyse different newspaper articles and how they may influence a person’s opinion on certain media
reports, talked philosophically concerning what the ‘truth’ really is and how we can independently
distinguish what these media organisations are really trying to sell us. It was a tremendous experience
thus increasing my interest in politics and its importance in the world we live in”.
Maarya Zaabar (year 12)
“Being given the opportunity to visit the US Embassy in London was an experience I will not
forget as it enabled me to talk with other students who share the same interest as me particularly
the US Presidential Election and Brexit. It was really informative as a vast plethora of ideas was
articulated and shared by students from a number of schools around the country. While we were at
the Embassy, it gave me an insight into others views on the different ways subjects are portrayed in
the media, deepening my understanding on the varying interpretations in the media”.
30
Carmen Gaur (year 12)

Cranford Students Promoting Democracy
During this academic year, Cranford students having
been working alongside Seema Malhotra, MP for Cranford
and Heston, in various events, to understand and engage with the
democratic process. This included their participation in the local election campaign in the recent
general election on Thursday 8th June 2017.
“Campaigning with Seema Malhotra (and the Labour Party), the MP for our constituency, has allowed
me to gain a lot more knowledge in how politics actually works. It has allowed me to learn the
procedures of how different political parties bring together unique strategies to ensure they keep the
voters they have had in the past but also swing more voters towards their party.
A lot of time has to be put in and there are many tasks that anyone can get involved in within
campaigning politically. It is essential everyone is aware of what they are voting for and being able
to portray and spread the messages for political parties such as Labour has boosted my confidence in
politics, in which I have a keen interest in. I hope to get more young people involved with politics on
a local and national scale in the near future as the steps the governments take on a daily basis effect
everyone, but more so effect the young population in our community”.
From Aadil Awan (year 12)
31

discussions and share their opinions, views, concerns
and questions challenging topics, including issues
related to terrorism, extremism and radicalisation. It
is through this need the “Hear Our Voices” project
evolved. It provides young people of school age a
safe place to consider such challenging topics and
questions and allows them to not only share their
opinions but aims to educate these young adults
about the dangers and consequences of extremism
and radicalisation.
Project
In
January this year, Cranford
embarked on a major project
working with the Home Office in
support of its agenda of tackling extremism
and radicalisation of young people.
Schools have a duty to protect their children
from the dangers of radicalisation. Over the
past few years Cranford has commissioned
projects to shore up students’ defences to
those who would seek to draw them into
terrorism. One of the projects we use is the
Institute for Strategic Dialogues Extreme
Dialogue programme. This programme uses
high quality video and teaching resources
to develop young people’s critical thinking
skills. A group of Cranford students who
participated in the Extreme Dialogue
programme wanted to challenge the
difference between their school world and
the world beyond the school gates. They were
convinced that something should be done
to promote the shared values of the school
community with the world outside. They felt
the need to go out into the community to
promote common values and in particular
those of respect and tolerance.
“Hear our Voices” aimed at giving children
a voice and to demonstrate to schools that
this can be done in a non-threatening way,
equipping children with the resilience
needed to combat any future radicalisation
threat. The world around us is a fast-paced,
turbulent and scary place for the ‘children’
of today. The newspapers are filled with
headlines aimed to shock yet inform.
However we often forget that it isn’t just
the adult population that is reading these
articles. There is an urgent need to allow the
children of today to have a safe and open
forum where they can engage in honest
The project aimed to provide both primary and
secondary schools with some simple tools and
resources to enable them to fulfil this duty in a
non-threatening way. Through the use of drama
and creative writing students explored the topic of
extremism and radicalisation. The performance in
front of parents and teachers enabled both to start
having a dialogue with their children on this difficult
topic.
The three pieces are based around different briefs;
The Ripple Effect, Social Networks and The Open
Brief.
The Ripple Effect mixes live action with filmed news
bulletins reporting on a fictional suicide bombing of
Kings Cross by a young man from Hounslow. The
play explores the ‘ripple effect’ of his actions on
those who know him. Actors play a friend, teacher,
girlfriend, work colleague, football coach, aunt and
mother. The play explores not only the devastation to
those killed by the terrorist act but those who knew
him. The mother makes a plea to parents to talk to
their children. The key question is how well do you
really know someone?
The Social Network play deals with a young boy
who is being bullied at school. His mother and
father separate and the only constant in his life is his
computer games. He is befriended by another online
gamer who initially we think is another child but
as their conversation progresses we start to wonder
who this person is. He advises the boy to stand up
for his beliefs. When the boy asks his mother about
his beliefs and his identity she ignores him. In the
next scene buoyed by his new beliefs he challenges
his bullies and feels good about the experience. Our
mystery gamer tells him that people will try and
turn him from his beliefs but he must be strong. In
the last scene his mother is seen as a distant figure
slowly withdrawing from his life. The boy picks up
his school bag then picks up a suitcase throwing down
his school bag and walks off. The key question is how
did he become so alienated?
32

The Open Brief explores putting your family at
risk by your actions. The story is told through the
lives of a grandmother, mother and two daughters.
It is a loving family where each generation has
a daughter becoming pregnant at 16. The mother
has a boyfriend who persuades her to look after
a mysterious box contain cash and a gun. Her
actions put her family at risk until one day the
boyfriend comes looking for the box and one of
the daughters discovers it. The family confronts
the mother and casts her out. She pleads with her
boyfriend to take it away and when he refuses she
calls the police. This action resurrects her family
and the mother makes a pledge to her family to
never put them in danger again. The key question
is should you put your family through this?
Through this project the Prevent message was
delivered to a diverse audience of nearly 1,000
children, parents and teachers. The 28 secondary
students developed a very good understanding
of issues surrounding violent extremism with
the 14 who went on to deliver the plays having
a very deep understanding of Prevent and
violent extremism. The 14 are very committed
to the project and have taken great pride in
their contribution to the Prevent agenda and
feel they have made a difference to children’s
understanding of this subject.
Parents were overwhelmingly supportive of the
project and felt it was important for their tenyear-old
children to have an understanding of
this sometimes difficult topic. The project has
given parents a safe referencing point to discuss
Prevent and what their children should do if they
have concerns.
The workshops on British Values reminded the
children and teachers the importance of these
values and the need to protect them. The poetry,
often funny, conveyed the strong message of
what we value and that it is a shared value. In
particular, they focused on tolerance and respect
which are probably easier for the children to
conceptualise. A website has been developed
which will have all the resources available for
schools and methodology. A film has been created
which explains the project and why it important
to engage in the Prevent agenda.
Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher - Community)
Thought Wednesday was brilliant - really insightful. The ladies running
the workshop were BRILLIANT. They approached the Manchester attack
really sensitively, and in a way that opened up a forum for the children
to speak about it freely. It was then dealt with in a really positive way,
promoting British Values in a way I hadn’t thought of before.
Primary School Teacher comment
“When I left the drama production by Cranford Community
College and year 5 students yesterday I was in two minds,
unsure if I wanted my innocent child exposed to such terror.
I remained unsure until this morning when I heard of the horror
that had taken the lives and injured innocent children at last
night’s concert.
I wanted to thank you for identifying the need and addressing
this sensitive subject with year 5 students. The production was
a great way of educating both parents and children on ways
in which we can tackle this issue together and protect one
another”.
“The experience was really positive for Year 5 and
they thoroughly enjoyed working with the theatre
company ‘Bounce’ and learnt a great deal from the
plays performed by the older students. It was also really
fulfilling to work alongside a local school on such a
powerful project”
Deputy Headteacher Hounslow Primary School
Parent comment
33

INTERNATIONAL
From Osterley to Oslo, Hounslow to Helsinki, Bedfont to Beijing, T
World Class School Quality Mark (WCSQM)
Cranford Community College was designated a World Class
School in November 2015 and by a year later was providing
student assessors and a staff assessor for the new cohort of
would-be world class schools. Cranford is once again at the forefront of
international developments and is about to start trialling the International
Accreditation Programme for WCSQM with some of our partner schools.
2016-17 has been a magical academic year, roll on 2017-18.
Philip Dobison (Assistant Head of School, International Relations)
China
Korea
34
The year began early in the autumn term with the annual visit
by the delegation from Tianjin College of Commerce, which we
reciprocated in October 2016. 17 Cranford students, accompanied
by 5 members of staff visited the sights of Tianjin, the Forbidden
City and Temple of Heaven in Beijing as well as clambering up
the Great Wall of China. This trip is a real experience and eyeopener
on the dizzying growth of China and its economy. It is an
opportunity not to be missed and I am delighted to say that this
October, some 30 students from year 12 will be following in their
footsteps.
Our link with the South Dong Chang Middle School in Shanghai
goes from strength to strength and once again, we welcomed
students and staff from our partner school. The students visited
lessons from drama to science and all said how wonderful the
lessons were. One member of the Shanghai staff
commented: “You could feel the passion
with which the teacher spoke about her
subject”. That is all part of what makes
Cranford beyond outstanding.
Our links with
the Korean
Education
Ministry and
Embassy are
now very strong.
The Education
Department of the Embassy
has been sponsoring a Korean
teacher at Cranford and there
are currently 29 students
enrolled on the course.
Cranford is just one of a
handful of schools that offer
Korean and we are proud to
do so. The school has also had
requests for support from the
Embassy for various activities
involving educationalists from
South Korea, which itself is an
outstanding education system.
One of our students has been
very lucky to be accepted as
only one out of two from the
whole of the UK to participate in
a programme in Korea organised
by the Korean Government. The
student will spend 10 days in
Korea with all expenses paid,
experiencing Korean culture
first hand, visiting schools and
businesses, places of interest
and most importantly taking the
opportunity to speak Korean in
a real context. More news of this
soon.

ISM 2016-2017
wickenham to Tokyo, Southall to Seoul, everyone knows Cranford
Thailand
Japan
As part of
Cranford’s continuing look
at the world, we have developed
exciting links with a group of schools
in Thailand, Princess Chulabhorn’s
College group of schools, whose
focus is unashamedly on science
and technology. The school we are
particularly linked with is about 50
minutes from Central Bangkok and
offers students a calm and peaceful
location for learning. This is a brand
new link and is set for greater things.
Our links with Keio University
(one of the most prestigious
university in Japan) located
in Central Tokyo began last
February (2016) and have
blossomed since then. This August
(2017), 10 Cranford students from
years 9 and 10, plus 2 year 12
student leaders will join their
Japanese counterparts from the
Keio University Junior High
School for a week long activity
centre stay in the New Forest. It
is the stay of a lifetime and in
preparation. Before the summer
school, Cranford students will
take a crash course in basic Japanese. Activities
include kayaking, swimming, rope walks, archery
as well as visits to the local sights and Lulworth
Cove. We also have strong links with Joto Senior
High School in Okayama who were introduced to
Cranford by a former teacher at Cranford, Mr Baxter, who
now teaches at Okayama Joto Senior High School. Year 12
students worked with 10 students from Joto for the day,
challenging their knowledge of the UK and
Japan. In the end, the challenge came as a
draw with both sides pulling the punches
when needed. Students from both schools
really enjoyed the experience. As one
Cranford student said: “It was not only
fun being in a mixed team of Cranford
and Joto students, but we also got to
know so much about each other in such
a short time. I cannot wait for the next
opportunity like this to come my way”.
35

Finland
Cranford hosted a group from the Etelä Tapiola
School in Espoo, Finland. 13 students from
our partner school joined Cranford students in
their lessons (economics, English, physics and
psychology). This was yet another chance for
Cranford to open its gates to the world and help
our students become real global citizens.
Kazakhstan
Our work with the British
Council continues and we
welcomed a group of 5 prize
winners from Kazakhstan,
who came to visit Cranford
as part of their award
for submitting STEM
projects which were judged
outstanding. The 5 students
came from 4 different schools
across Kazakhstan and
enjoyed time with students
from Cranford’s own STEM
club, run by Ms Foale. They
also visited lessons in chemistry and biology and
engaged with year 12 Cranford students in their
experiments.
Brazil
Brazil too was on our agenda and we hosted a
visit by 6 science and mathematics teachers from
secondary schools in Rio de Janeiro, Barra and
Rio Claro. The Brazilian teachers visited classes
in the Science and Maths Departments and were
delighted with what they saw. Jessica Atouguia
(year 12) said afterwards: “I would so like to
thank you for the amazing opportunity, it was
great fun and the visitors loved our school”.
US Diplomats visit Cranford
We
arrived at CR4 and were welcomed
by Diplomats from the US Embassy.
They first introduced themselves and gave a
background of the US through an interactive
quiz. This showed the cultural differences
between the UK and the US as it was highlighted
what the average US citizen would answer and
some questions showed the clear difference in
views we held. We were then asked to write on
the front and back of a card, what we liked about
the US and something we either didn’t like or
were confused about. After doing so, there was
a discussion about the issues that some of us
had raised such as gun crime. When explaining
the US gun laws the diplomat tried to give some
context to why the laws are not as strict as the
UK, though we weren’t all easily convinced.
We were joined by other members of the local
community, some much older than us, and
the question and answer opportunity really
demonstrated the differences between us, not
least when Donald Trump was raised. We were
slightly shocked to find some support for Donald
Trump in our community and didn’t expect that
people would feel he was justified in some of
his more controversial views and pledges. This
was interesting as I previously thought the
vast majority of people were like-minded on
the topic of Donald Trump, but this conference
showed this to be incorrect. We finished by
discussing the positives about the US such as
tourism, Disney World and New York.
Ahmed Fadhluddin (year 12)
36

Election
Night
at the
US Embassy
in London
On
Tuesday 8th November 2016, Mr Fraser and I were invited to an Election Night at the
US Embassy in London. There was a real party atmosphere from the outset with many
notable media personalities and national and international politicians in attendance. The invitation
was extended to us in recognition of our continued special relationship with the people of the United
States and the US Embassy. This was one of the last formal engagements of Matthew Barzon the
US Ambassador to London who had been a good friend to Cranford during his tenure, Whatever the
outcome of the election he was returning to the US and we wish him well.
The event was in full swing at midnight with election results slowly trickling in and all seemed well.
The highlight of the evening for me was when I literally bumped into one of my favourite political
commentators Andrew Marr. The optimistic atmosphere continued until around 1:30 a.m. in the
morning when some of pollsters were predicting a much closer call than everyone had imagined. The
mood in the auditorium shifted from one of fun and enjoyment to rather more gloomy; the change was
palpable as the worried expressions of the vast majority of people seemed to ask the same question:
“Could the unthinkable happen?” By about 3:00 a.m. in the morning it seemed so and with so called
swing states declared as Republican and with our shoulders slumped, one by one people began exiting.
When we woke up for work the next morning the political landscape of the world had changed once
more; and however shocked we were by the result, we can say that on the night it happened, we
were in one of the key places witnessing the drama unfold alongside some key names in British and
international politics.
Mehmoona Yousaf (Senior Teacher – Cultural Diversity)
37

Cranford working with
our American partners
European School Leaders Programme to the United States
38
In
October half term 2016, I was fortunate
enough to be selected for a US government
funded trip to Washington and Minnesota. The trip
participants were European school leaders from
the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands and
Sweden and the focus was educational provision
for immigrant and refugee communities in the
United States.
The trip commenced in Washington DC with a
series of lectures and workshops on US policy
and practice. There was also the opportunity to
meet members of different ethnic communities
and visit schools in Washington and Maryland.
We had time to see some of the great sights in
the American capital city. The timing of our
visit was just before the American Presidential
election and this explained the added vibrant
buzz palpable throughout the city.
The second part of the trip took us to the Midwest
state of Minnesota where we engaged in a further
study programme with a particular focus on the
educational achievement of Somali communities
as well as other immigrant groups such as the
Hmong (from Laos), Vietnamese and Latino
students. I discovered that Minnesota has the
largest Somali community in the United States
and there are many links between Somali families
in London and Minnesota.
The trip was a fascinating opportunity for
European school leaders to meet US teachers,
students and academics and also spend time with
the different immigrant communities. We were
able to meet some inspirational teachers and
also hear from many students of their different
experiences adjusting to life in the US. We met
many young people who had overcome significant
barriers to learning and are now achieving great
results. In addition to meeting American school
leaders, this was also a superb opportunity to
spend time with other European Headteachers to
share and learn from our different experiences
and challenges.
This trip has become the start of an ongoing link
with the University of Minnesota with whom
we have embarked upon collaborative research
work into the educational experiences of Somali
students in Europe and the United States.
A follow up trip then took place in January 2017
to Paris and Poitiers in France. This trip continued
the focus on immigrant and refugee communities
but this time in France. This provided a further
opportunity for this team of school leaders to
work together and will be the springboard for
ongoing collaborative work with new US and
European partners.
Peter Stumpf (Associate Headteacher)

Minnesota comes to Cranford
In
June 2017, Cranford Community
College welcomed Marina Aleixo
and Nimo Abdi from the College of
Education and Human Development,
University of Minnesota, USA. Both
Nimo and Marina met Peter Stumpf when
he visited the US as part of a conference
delving into the educational experiences
of students from immigrant communities
in Western countries. Marina and Nimo
are conducting academic research into the
educational experiences, attainment and
integration of Somali students in different
western contexts.
The purpose of this visit, in light of their
entire study, was to look at the good
practice in the UK, specifically in Cranford
Community College, in comparison with
other countries in Europe, including the
Netherlands and Sweden. Whilst here,
Nimo and Marina conducted various
focus groups with staff and parents and
explored the perceptions, views and most
importantly the experiences of students
themselves. They also gave us an insight
into the systems in the US, which gave
the term “postcode lottery” a whole new
meaning as we learnt how vastly different
the educational experiences of American
students were depending on which
neighbourhood they belonged to.
The study will explore school structures
and national policies and consider the
impact these have on the school experience
of students and will be examining whether
these differed according to the different
countries. A thematic interpretive analysis
of all the data will be done. Alongside
this, the study will attempt to provide
in-depth analysis of national policies
regarding immigrant student integration.
Implications for research, policy and
practice will be highlighted once the
study concludes – which won’t be for a
while. This is to be a longitudinal study
and so this is not an isolated visit and we
look forward to welcoming both Nimo
and Marina back to Cranford in the future.
The students were extremely grateful and enthusiastic to
share their experiences and they summed up their meetings
with Nimo and Marina thus:
“The discussion we covered with Dr Abdi was incredibly educational
and fun. We were able to explore the different views of our Somali
peers and their aspirations for change in society.”
Calia Mohamed (year 10)
“Our discussion with Dr Abdi was enlightening as we learnt about
experiences of students in the US and we were able to share our
personal experiences with her, which as a young Somali felt both
refreshing and necessary.”
Faisa Ali (year 10)
“The session with Dr Abdi was extremely significant, because it felt
good to have someone explore the opportunities open to people from
ethnic minorities.”
Halima Elmi (year 10)
“I really liked the interview with Dr Abdi; it let me express my feelings
about life at school as a Muslim Somali student. It was valuable as I
felt she was truly interested in what we had to say. It was a good thing
that I got to share my experiences because I felt like I have made a
massive improvement since year 7 and I wanted to show Somali kids
and teenagers do very well at school and that everyone can change
and overcome challenges. It allowed me to reflect that my parents
raised me in the right way, which is something I am proud of.”
Abdihakeem Ali (year 9)
“I thoroughly enjoyed the experience because we discussed and
evaluated the many reasons why some Somali students and indeed those
from other ethnic minorities don’t do as well in education and gained
a greater understanding as to how we can stop this from becoming
a recurring global pattern. We also explored ways in which we, as
Somali students, can actively break stereotypes. We also discussed
the main factors that can cause barriers in the educational success of
immigrant communities such as teachers’ expectations, culture, peer
pressure and dealing with issues surrounding dual identity.”
Amirah Jama (year 12)
Mehmoona Yousaf
(Senior Teacher – Cultural Diversity)
39

When
we went on the trip to the London Symphony
Orchestra, I had the time of my life. It was
amazing. Gary from the LSO taught us so many things such as how
to use a variety of different things on an app called GarageBand,
which has many different instruments to choose from ranging from
a recorder to a guitar. After he taught us the basics of the app he
then let us create our own piece of music. I know it may sound hard but it really wasn’t as all of the
instruments had many clips of them playing a part of a song. There must have been over 150 types of
guitars which absolutely blew my mind; I never even knew there was that many types of guitars, I only
thought there was 3 types of guitars: electric, bass and acoustic. After we had created our simple piece
of music he then taught us more complicated things such as how to fade out a piece and start another
piece straight after the one I just faded out. I was really amazed by all of the things Gary taught us
as I had only ever used GarageBand once. By going on this trip I think it has really helped me in my
learning as it has taught me a numerous amount of new features and instruments and has improved
my knowledge technology and instruments. I certainly think this trip should be set again whether or
not it is for my year or another year. Thank you, it is an experience I will never forget.
By Robert Keeley (year 7)
Trip to the London Symphony Orchestra
Remix the Orchestra Workshop at the
Cranford Music Department has a longstanding
partnership with the London
Symphony Orchestra (LSO) and has for the
past 5 years been working alongside them in their
workshops and attending various concerts.
High-achieving music students in year 7 were
invited to take part in the ‘Remix the Orchestra’
workshop at the LSO. This was an opportunity for
them to build on the fantastic work they have been
doing throughout the year in class on topics such
as composition, theme and variation as well as
renaissance and sonata music.
40

Cranford is fast becoming the new Hollywood of
Hounslow. Over the past year there have been six
major campaigns filmed at Cranford and numerous
smaller social media campaigns shot using Cranford’s
fantastic facilities. Film companies choose Cranford because
of our unique facilities and the helpful staff and students.
On arrival students were given
a tour of the venue, where they
watched musicians rehearsing for
a concert and had the opportunity
to speak to professional recording
artists. At the workshop students
were given an overview of a
professional recording studio and
how it has changed over the last
30 years. They had the opportunity
to create their own compositions
using professionally recorded
samples, as well as collaborating
with the music producers delivering
the workshop which inspired them
greatly. Ayman Goudari (7T) said
of the experience; “I didn’t realise
how easy it was to make music and
how much fun it was. I want to set
up a studio at home”.
Mr Paoli (music teacher) said the
students’ music is “Fantastico. I
always knew they had so much
creativity in them and it’s so
pleasing to see and hear it here. The
joy, happiness and concentration
in their eyes really inspire and I
hope we open this opportunity up
to more students as this will help
build a legacy”.
All the students received a copy of
their music on a CD.
Mo Wasiq (Head of Music Department)
Last summer saw the Cranford SuperDome used as a location
for motion capture for a new football computer game. This was
the biggest shoot ever for a computer game involving building
a rig with over 250 cameras each capturing the movements
of ten freestyle footballers. The aim is to make the game as
real as possible with the final game being released next year.
In December 2016 our sports hall and rugby pitch were
used for Sport England’s award-winning campaign This Girl
Can. The sports hall was transformed into a multi-coloured
arena with over 150 women who had participated in the film
coming together for the grand finale.
In January 2017 it was the turn of Adidas to film international
rugby stars including Sam Warbutton, Connor Murry and
Maro Itoje. The three-day shoot primarily took place in the
Cranford SuperDome and on the rugby pitch. The international
campaign was launched during the recent British and Irish
Lions tour of New Zealand.
In March 2017 it was the footballers turn with New Balance
shooting a new campaign. We had various Premier League
players coming to Cranford for the shoot including Aaron
Ramsey, Jesus Navas and Casper Schmeichel. Indeed, they
loved our facilities so much so they decided to have the launch
event in the Cranford SuperDome in August 2017.
March 2017 also saw Alexis Sanchez spend a day at Cranford
shooting an advert for Gatorade, Chile.
Perhaps the most unusual film request was to have a horse in
our Leadership and Management Centre. This was for a new
advert for Skittles to promote their limited edition new white
skittles. The white horse behaved itself very well and the film
crew left behind a bucket full of skittles which were enjoyed
by staff over the rest of the week.
Together with smaller shoots for the likes of McDonalds
we think this makes Cranford Community College the most
popular location for filming in Hounslow.
Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher- Community)
41

This
National Writing Competition 2016-2017 run by First Story was a competition for aspiring writers in
year 7. Students were asked to produce a short story or poem of a maximum of 850 words inspired
by the theme of ‘Footprints.’ This theme could be interpreted in many ways and that is exactly what the students
did; poems and short stories that were submitted ranged from the detective and mystery genre to writing about
memories of friends and families. The work submitted was of an amazing standard and it was brilliant to see
that so many year 7 students were keen to participate. Three entries were allowed to be submitted for Cranford
Community College. Once submitted, First Story judged the winner and identified the representative for the school;
that winner’s entry was then submitted for the next round of judging whereby they would be up against entrants
from all over the country. The overall winner would have the opportunity to go to the Arvon Writing Festival where
they could also take their friends or family and enjoy a range of workshops with established writers. Although
Cranford did not necessarily have the winner of the whole competition selected from its entrants, Ayesha Kaur
(7Y) had her work selected and short-listed for the digital anthology which is published on the competition website
in the summer of 2017. Well done to Ayesha. You can read her poem here.
Sahrish Shaikh (First Story)
The
sweet, luring aroma of ginger wafted through my numb nose,
My ample cheeks were ruby-red and frigid like a frozen rose,
Refreshing sensations of joy and pleasure was what I was dwelling on,
Bells jingled and jangled whilst elegant reindeers pounced and bounced under the enchanting blanket of black,
The gleaming diamonds in the realm of darkness affectionately watched down on me,
The crisp, blustery winter breeze kissed my rosy cheeks,
Crystalline, sparkling snowflakes began to dance down majestically,
My tongue tingled for the sweet taste of lush, intoxicating cinnamon pretzels
that were sprinkled with the finest of sugars,
My red, glossy lips formed into an endearing smile,
I plunged my cushioned leather boots in the white, pristine and untouched duvet of snow,
And then I gaped in awe at Christmas standing in many rows …
Oversized seasonal candy sugarcanes shot out of the ground like luscious bountiful trees,
Surrounding the detectable canes of richness and magnificence,
Were petite, ornate, chocolate cottages of flamboyance,
The toiling chimneys chugged up laughter and Christmas spirit,
Spreading it to the world every minute.
Marshmallows were doorbells,
The wall of the cottages were neatly assembled together with mouth-watering, white chocolate shells.
Beside the doorstep mints were thoughtfully placed in a jar for guests,
Making the hunt for sweets no longer a quest!
Amaranthine, floral and exquisite were the wreaths upon doors,
And behind those doors I could hear hush little snores,
Delight and tenderness instantly filled my heart,
As the snores were so calming, setting all my worries apart.
42

Ayesha Kaur
I diverted my attention,
And set my eyes upon,
Something that made my eyes widen,
Something I had to keep my eyes on.
Stood solely in the middle,
Was a festive lavish Christmas tree,
Embellished with ornate ornaments,
All one-of-a-kind,
Each branch of perfection
With a twinkling angelic golden star at the top,
It added the cherry to a cupcake,
And the sprinkles to an ice cream,
Nestled in the limelight,
It was perceived from further than far,
Like shepherds trying to find Jesus
with a glistening star.
I pinch myself repeatedly,
Blinking and blinking, bedazzled,
Then I squint my eyes in utter disbelief
As I see a peeking smile
From behind the tree of wonders,
A mysterious face cheekily peeps out,
I scratch my head curiously,
Which had cleared all the doubt!
Excitement bubbled inside me,
As I realised who it was,
He was the one and only,
The one there only was!
I giggled at the hysterical face he was making,
And followed him around
To where he was standing,
To where the tree unbound.
He welcomed me with open arms,
And cuddled me to the core,
Then lifted a present from under the tree
and gifted me a Christmas well and galore.
His eyes were green gleaming emeralds,
His smile was the cave leading to happiness,
His boots were black and long,
And he sang his merry old song
He was indeed the man,
With the beard and the “HO!HO!HO!”
With the well-known red clothes,
He was Father Christmas for sure!
The footprints we left in the snow that day,
Will never ever go away,
For memories remain deep in the heart,
And nothing take them far apart.
I still re-live that footprint until now,
Because it’s the footprints that count anyhow …
By Ayesha Kaur (year 7)
43

Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education
PSHCE is always a lesson that everyone looks forward to; PSHCE helps us to understand
ourselves physically, emotionally and socially as we talk about topics that are not
generally talked about in other lessons. In PSHCE, we talk about topics that we can
connect with emotionally and discover more about the world around us,
PSHCE deals with real life issues that affect us all and being able to discuss these issues helps
us become better and more mature people because we discuss issues that can
be quite difficult to talk about like bullying. PSHCE helps us to develop a
level of maturity in order to be able to fully understand the subject and this
gives us the understanding we need throughout our whole lives.
This year we have discussed various topics such as human rights, girls’
education, mental health and terrorism. Personally, my favourite topic was
human rights as I found it extremely interesting because human rights play
an essential role in our lives. Without human rights, the world would be
likely to be in chaos and there would be conflict all around the world. Every
day, we are protected by these human rights, even though we do not realise
this and tend to take them for granted.
PSHCE helps us to realise how fortunate we are and how we should appreciate
things more by discussing topics like human rights and girl’s education as
there are countries where neither are enforced. An example of this is North
Korea. Human rights in North Korea are severely limited with many human
rights being violated and North Koreans being denied many rights which we
have access to at all times. PSHCE is about sharing our opinions and thoughts,
whilst learning and being educated about important issues.
Jaineet Gulabzada (year 9)
Cranford’s year 9 students have had a great year in PSHCE. To
reward the students who have done exceptionally well, the
school took us to the Apollo Theatre on Wednesday 3rd May
2017 to see “Wicked” the Musical, the retold story of the Wizard of
Oz, now from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West.
For some of the students, this was their first experience of going to
the theatre, but it left a great impression on all of us. We had our first
mock exams on that day, so the trip was a very enjoyable way to take
our minds off the tests. It was a rather rainy day, so we weren’t in
the greatest spirits during the journey. However, that turned around
immediately when we got to the theatre. We were introduced to
Elphaba Thropp, a socially awkward and younger version of the
Wicked Witch. It was interesting to see how the story unfolded from
the point of view of the villain, to get to the final stage of the story
that we are all familiar with.
We particularly enjoyed the witty humour integrated in an otherwise
serious story line; the writer of the play expressed humour through
the character of Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, though in this
version her character is an egotistical, dim-witted girl who becomes
Elphaba’s best friend despite their differences.
Overall, the experience was one of the great examples of how Cranford
rewards the students who try their hardest in school.
44
Guy Boonyarakyotin and Brahmnoor Brar (year 9)

MADE in HESTON WEST Film Making Project
Made
in Heston West is a community filmmaking project designed for young people (11-
18yrs) living and studying in our Big Local area. The project is in collaboration with
MADE (Make A Difference Entertainment) and Heston West Big Local. During the sessions young
people learn the art of filmmaking and community work. In the last year they have filmed and edited
Big Local community events, interviews (with our MP Seema Malhotra and the Deputy Lieutenant of
Hounslow Borough Maria Pedro) and campaign films, such as: community clean up, tackling gender
identity and body image issues. The sessions are an opportunity to learn leadership, communication
and creative skills in a safe, friendly, family orientated environment. Our Community Clean Up Day
film was recently featured in the Local Trust Film Festival at the University of Birmingham. Although
the project is aimed for young people we also have had parents and film experts volunteer their time
to support the project and help our young crew. By getting involved with our project young people
will have unique access to the film industry, an opportunity to network, visit film studios and festivals
and also get involved with other exciting Big Local projects aimed to help our young people gain new
skills and work experience.
We are always looking for more potential film makers to join our project and help make a real
difference in our community. If you would like to get involved or would like more information please
visit: www.hestonwest.org/made-in-heston-west
The sessions run Sundays 10.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Cranford Community College throughout the year
with additional sessions during the school holidays.
Taz Virdee (Community Project Manager Heston West Big Local)
“MADE in HESTON WEST is a community film project
where young people get to explore and learn new and
exciting things while creating amazing videos for the
world to see. It has helped me to grow my confidence
and do things I could never imagine myself doing
such as going out and interviewing people and being
in front of the camera without being scare”.
Serena Lola (15 years old)
“The film club has helped me learn camera, sound
and editing skills and made me a better filmmaker.
I am also a keen photographer, thanks to the MIHW
film club sessions teaching me about how the camera
functions work and different compositional techniques
I can use in my own photography. MIHW is the main
reason I got my own camera last Christmas, although
it is only a compact camera. I am now hoping to
get a DSLR bundle this year. My favourite part
of filmmaking is the camerawork itself, e.g. using
manual mode, altering settings to improve the look of
my filming, and overall taking more control over the
camera and getting out of the habit of always using
auto mode”.
Haroon Lukka (13 years old)
“MADE in HESTON
WEST club is a group of
people who make videos
for the community. It
has made me realise
that there is more in
life for those who take
the opportunity to do
things. What I enjoyed the most was
the recent fall prevention project
working with local GPs”.
Cammeron Jones (13 years old)
“MADE in HESTON WEST Film
Club has improved and developed
my editing skills using Final Cut
Pro that has helped me with my own
YouTube channel McPigmenPlayz”.
Leo Payne (13 years old)
“What I really like about the MADE in HESTON WEST sessions is
that you learn different things including how to use a camera and
how to interview people. I like the fact that we are one big family,
we all stick together and we help each other. My confidence has
grown within a year and I am now comfortable being in front of
the camera and working in teams. These sessions are simply the
best and I now look forward to my Sundays”.
Anjali Parmar (13 years old)
“The MADE in HESTON WEST club has inspired me to do more
working on filming I enjoy teaching others how to use the camera,
sound equipment and tripod. I really enjoy these sessions and I
look forward to coming every week”.
Callum Willis (13 years old)
45

At
Easter, Keven Prunty, Executive
Headteacher, Seema Malhotra MP for
Cranford and Heston and myself were invited
to attend the 20th Anniversary Celebrations of
America’s Promise in New York. America’s
Promise was started by General Colin Powel
and his wife Alma. He enlisted the support of
all the living US Presidents to launch this major
initiative. The declaration signed by President
Jimmy Carter, President George Bush, Nancy
Reagan (Ronald was too ill to travel) and
President Bill Clinton stated:
“The collective work of the Alliance involves
keeping Five Promises to children and youth that
form the conditions they need to achieve adult
success.
We promise to young Americans that they
will grow up with the help and guidance of
caring adult relationships, healthy childhoods,
safe surroundings, effective education and
opportunities to serve others”.
Subsequent to its foundation the declaration has
been signed by President George W. Bush and
President Barack Obama.
The event was about re-committing that pledge
to young people and was a truly inspirational
America’s Promise
time. The programme was made up of a series of
panel interviews, performances and films with a
key note speech from President Clinton. One of
the highlights was the twenty minutes we spent
with General Colin Powel and Alma discussing
the similarities and differences between young
people in the US and UK. We were delighted
when in his closing speech he said that one
of his highlights was meeting the
delegation from the UK and that
he had passed on our details to Bill
Clinton.
The event looked at some of the
challenges that face young people
in society today but underpinning
everything said was the message of
hope. We all learned so much from
our time in New York that will inform
what we do at Cranford and beyond
in the future. Indeed, many of the
messages are already informing
what we are doing such as the HOPE
Movement but watch that space as
there is a lot more to come.
Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher -
Community)
46

Hounslow’s Promise is an initiative devoted
to creating the conditions for success for
all young people in Hounslow, inspired
by the successful America’s Promise, and is
centred on a vision of Five Pledges to be made and
kept to the young people of Hounslow. It is based
on the view that in building our social capital
around our education system, we can help grow
and share prosperity. It is based on the belief that
all children are capable of learning and thriving
and that every individual, organisation and sector
shares a responsibility to help young people
succeed. It sends a simple message of aspiration
– that every young person is valued and no young
person should be left behind, and that we all have
a part to play in the success of the next generation.
It literally takes a village to raise a child.
The Five Pledges are:
Promise 1: A network of caring adults
We need a network of caring adults
and mentors around our young people.
​Parents are at the centre of caring for children
and need our support, but young people also need
caring adults in all aspects of their life, including
in school and in the community, extended families,
teachers, neighbours, coaches and mentors.
Promise 2: Safe spaces and facilities
For our young people to develop intellectually
and emotionally, they need to be – and to feel –
safe wherever they are. ​This means safety in the
physical sense, but also in the emotional sense,
where they feel free to explore and grow without
fear and stress, online and offline
Promise 3: Support OUR Teachers
Hounslow’s 1200 teachers work incredibly hard
and are becoming even more stretched. They need
the support of the community behind them to be
able to do.
Promise 4: A healthy start
Our children need a healthy start, ensuring the
food, nutrition and well-being they need to get a
fair start in life and to alleviate poverty that too
many children in Hounslow suffer.
Promise 5: Youth Leadership
We want to provide our young people with
opportunities to help others, to grow up to be
leaders, proud citizens who have been supported
by their communities and in turn give something
back. We want our young people to be empowered
to feel that they are in control of their own destiny
and with that, to care for others.
Since Hounslow’s Promise launched in early 2017,
Cranford has been actively working to fulfil these
five pledges through various activities in school
and links with the local community, primarily
Heston West Big Local.
Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher – Community)
47

Cranford Charity Fund Raising 2016-2017
Cranford’s students and staff once again undertook to support a number of charity initiatives this
year and continued to raise money for those less fortunate than themselves, including Comic
Relief and most notably the victims of the dreadful Grenfell Tower disaster. The target was
to raise £1150 and we set up various activities to raise money on Friday 23rd June 2017. In addition
year groups have continued to run fund-raising activities to add to the monies already raised. All
money raised will support the families who have been affected by the tragic fire. Well done Cranford
for raising £3165.55. You did yourselves proud.
Rita Berndt (Joint Head of School)
£3165.55
Red Nose Day
As
always, Cranford students and staff took part in
the fund raising event for Red Nose Day 2017
with great enthusiasm. Students and staff were invited
to wear silly socks. This fundraising idea originated at the
Student Leadership Conference held in March 2017 and we
are delighted that is raised £450. Thank you to everyone who
donated money and participated in the event.
On
Friday 23rd June 2017, an immensely catastrophic
disaster occurred, the Grenfell Tower fire. Many
people lost their lives and others were critically injured. In
this difficult time, the school came together to host a charity
fundraiser with games, a £1 bring and buy sale, a cake sale,
a picnic and general gate donations. The fundraising event
was an incredible success as we surpassed our goal of
£1150 and reached £3165.55. I am so proud of our school
for acting together to raise this money to help the victims
of the fire, and a special thank you to all those people
that donated or helped to run the activities.
At the gates, willing students including myself, volunteered to collect donations
early in the morning from passing staff and students with massive smiles on our faces and
sympathy for the victims. Later in the day during break 1 we had our ‘bring and buy’ sale where
generous students with big hearts donated different items to be sold at the sale for others to buy. There
was also a mouth-watering bake sale with so many scrumptious treats for people to buy. During break
2 active students could play either dodgeball or capture the flag; these were a great way to have an
amazing time with friends. Overall the fundraising was a massive success and all donations received
will be given to those affected by the horrific tragedy. We hope the families can use this money to
help their current situation and start to rebuild their lives.
Manav Vivek (year 7)
Grenfell Tower
48

Community BBQ
brings everyone
together
Cranford Community College and the Heston West Big Local Traveller’s BBQ held on
Tuesday 18th July 2017 was a huge success with local groups and over 200 local residents
attending. The weather was spectacular reaching highs of 24 degrees. The event was
organised by Cranford staff, students involved with WFactor and the Big Local team.
There was a wide range of fun activities for everyone to get involved in, from face painting, arts and
crafts, to multi-sports and a live classical Indian Ghungroo dance performance. We were also treated
to cupcakes and candyfloss! It was great to see the event unite so many members
of our community. The Big Local Youth Action Team - an army of 15
dedicated volunteers - was hard at
work helping run all the activities
while the Cranford staff and Big
Local parent volunteers were on
the BBQ serving our community
members. The event was a great
achievement in helping unite the
community and helped reach
the Big Local mission to offer
opportunities, create happier, and
healthier lives for everyone.
Taz Virdee (Community Project
Manager Heston West Big Local)
49

Year 11 - GCSE Drama - Looking Back, Looking Forward
This
year’s drama group was amazing
to work with. There has been a
rollercoaster of emotions over the two years, but
what amazes me is the resilience of the students
and their huge commitment and passion for the
subject.
The brief from the exam board this year
“Looking Back, Looking Forward” was one
that the students were very excited about, with
lots of potential. But the initial response soon
turned into confusion. Each group wanting to
experiment with lots of different ideas, forms and
styles. Because of their commitment they were
able to journey the last part of it with a belief that
the final outcome would be great. And it was.
As always the students produced thoughtprovoking
challenging theatre, exploring issues
that are often difficult to discuss, but they
emerged strong and because of their belief in
their ideas they produced some stunning, highly
imaginative pieces.
Seema Sethi
(Head of Drama – Community Arts)
“I was astonished by the genuine realness of
the effects created - it was almost hard to
believe it was not real. After this workshop
it has persuaded me to potentially further
the art of stage make-up and even
pursue it as a career”.
Lia Kamboh (year 10)
50

I
really loved the sfx
makeup course that
we did in our GCSE
drama class. It was
informative, fun and
interactive. At the
beginning, we were
introduced to a woman
called Kate who was a
professionally-trained
makeup artist. She has been
in the business for 15 years and
worked in movies such as “Logan”.
During the first part part of the course, Kate
explained to us the difference between theatre
and television makeup; television makeup is
a lot more skin-like compared to heavy theatre
makeup. She went on to tell us about the different
companies and types of makeup she used. Kate
also told us how to make things like pus, blood
clots, vomit and wax for the special effect.
Special
Effect
Makeup
Master
Class
After she explained everything, she brought
up 2 of my classmates and did a demonstration
on them. She showed us how to make bruises
(different stages of bruising), a cut from a shard
of glass and a severed finger. Personally, this part
of the masterclass made me feel quite uneasy as
it looked extremely realistic and therefore quite
terrifying.
Then, it was onto us. We were paired up with a
partner and we applied the makeup to them; most
people applied cuts. In my opinion,
my favourite part of this was
applying the fake blood
as it really pulled the
whole piece together.
I also enjoyed
applying the bruise
because it was so
realistic.
Overall, I really
liked the masterclass
as we learned a key skill
for when we perform theatre
performances and we were given
really useful information and techniques
if any of us wanted to go into a career path of
makeup artistry. As well as this, I liked how
this class taught that makeup isn’t just used
for beautifying someone; it can make you look
gruesome, dead and ugly.
Maisie Mullen (year 10)
Geography trip to
Osmington Bay
As
a part of our geography coursework,
year 12 geographers are required to
take part in a field trip and we can honestly say
that the trip to Osmington Bay between 9th-
11th June 2017 was one of the most enjoyable
trips we’ve been on. During our three-day stay,
a continuous supply of effort was essential from
all students as a result of the intense workload
throughout the day, however many rewards and
activities awaited us after the completion of the
tasks.
The trip began with a visit to Studland in Swanage
where we examined cliff profiles and visited a
local sand dune ecosystem. After arriving at our
accommodation, the PGL centre, a tour was given
shortly before heading to dinner, and later we
were treated to a campfire where we peacefully
roasted marshmallows and relaxed with music.
The following day had a number of tasks in store
for us – we commenced with a drive to Durdle
Door where we were provided with insightful
information regarding the rock type, any forms of
management which were occurring and how the
area was affected by erosional processes. Once all
information was gathered, we conducted various
types of field work including beach profiles,
measuring longshore drift and wave counts,
where one of our classmates decided to take an
unintentional trip into the sea! Then, all groups
travelled uphill towards Lulworth Cove where we
enjoyed lunch and conducted an environmental
quality assessment, questionnaires and land use
maps. As the final day approached us, we set
off to Lyme Regis and Chesil Beach to view
the numerous management schemes in place to
contribute towards the protection of the area,
whilst also being rewarded by many amazing
sights.
Overall, our trip to Osmington Bay was extremely
entertaining with lots of food and music, but most
importantly, hard work.
Ilmeet Khaneja & Divan Odedra (year 12)
51

History
Trip to
Battle
Abbey,
site
of the
Battle of
Hastings,
1066
15
students made the trip with Mr. Rich and Ms.
Wrigley to the Sussex coast on Tuesday 11th
July 2017, to take in a number of sites of historical
interest to A-level historians who are studying ‘Anglo-
Saxon England and the Norman Conquest’ in year 12.
Battle Abbey, the remains of which are still more than
evident at the site, was commissioned and built by
William ‘the Conqueror’ to celebrate his famous victory
over the Anglo-Saxons and King Harold II in 1066 at the
Battle of Hastings. The Pope ordered King William I to
build an abbey to pay penance for spilling so much blood
on that day in October 1066. It was, and is still, such an
impressive building that it took 24 years to build and
wasn’t finished and consecrated as a religious site until
his son William ‘Rufus’ II was king. Today it is a grade
1 listed historical site operated by English Heritage.
Markedly improved by successive kings of England we were
immediately impressed by the formidable gatehouse, built in the
1500’s, which leads to the grounds of the early medieval remains of
Battle Abbey. We walked the circumference of the Hastings battlefield
itself, enjoying the figures erected by English Heritage to celebrate
the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings last year.
The remains of Battle Abbey were by far the most impressive part
of our tour and it was incredible to discover, despite Henry VIII’s
dissolution of the monasteries from 1536 – 1541, how much of the
original early building remained.
Once we had finished touring the abbey and battlefield we drove to
Pevensey Bay on the Sussex coast where William landed with his
invasion force from France in late September, 1066.
Did you know? The site of the ‘Battle of Hastings’ is actually 23
miles from the town of Hastings in what is now the town of Battle – so-called
after the enormous clash of armies that fought there on the 14th October 1066.
Having landed at Pevensey Bay, William led his army inland from the coast to
hunt down the Anglo-Saxon army and this just happened to be the place where
he met the Anglo-Saxon army which had marched from London to defend King
Harold II’s crown and the country from invasion.
Tom Rich (Head of Humanities Department)
52

The Jamie’s Farm experience
Again
this year I was very lucky
to be able to organise two
trips to Jamie’s Farm, a working animal farm as
well as an organic fruit and vegetable garden in
Ditteridge, Wiltshire.
I take twelve students and two members of staff
with me on each trip and they all benefit from
living as a family in a calm, peaceful atmosphere.
Often when I first invite the students to come
to the farm I am met with reluctance to go
and sometimes a flat refusal. However, with
persistence and usually asking previous Jamie’s
farmers (all of whom would go back to the farm
in a flash) to speak to them they agree to go.
There are strict rules regarding no junk food or
sugary snacks or mobile phones which initially
causes a panic, but this usually disappears very
quickly once we are there.
In November 2016 we saw some lambs being
born, helped with the movement of sheep through
villages to new pastures, milked the jersey
cows, and generally worked very hard to look
after the land and animals. Every day we go on
long, hilly walks armed with torches and highvis
jackets; the students and staff alike all love
the adventure of climbing
hills, wading through
mud and scrambling over gates and fences. It
is fabulous to watch and listen to the students
interacting and supporting each other on these
walks.
In May 2017 we had a few pet lambs which needed
bottle feeding and there was never a shortage of
volunteers; the students made butter and cheese
with the milk from the lovely, friendly Jersey
cows. We helped with shearing sheep as well as
weighing them to see if they were the right size
to go to market. The students all love moving
sheep through villages and along the roads and
in the warmer weather we incorporate a dip in the
river into the afternoon walks which is absolutely
freezing but again something the students love
to do.
One of the most important parts of the day is meal
times. Not only because we get to eat delicious
food prepared by the students (who all take a turn
with the cooking) alongside experienced chefs,
but coming together as a family and share our
feelings is a very special part of every meal.
Every student would love to go to Jamie’s Farm
again and how they aspire to do well at school
with the hope that they may be able
to return as a student mentor.
Vanessa Tutt (Jamie’s Farm co-ordinator)
“At the farm I was more confident. At school I’m not that
confident and I would usually give up very easily, but on
the farm I was very confident and I wouldn’t give up, I
tried my hardest to get stuff completed”.
Clayton Sinclair (year 7)
“The impact the farm had on me was really good to be honest
because I feel like I’ve changed a lot and I deal with situations
differently. The feedback I received from the farm made me realise
I am a better person than I thought and this encouraged me to be
more confident in myself”.
Ronit Sawira (year 10)
53

Junior Citizenship 2017
Cranford hosted the
third Hounslow Junior
Citizenship Scheme from
Monday 3rd to Friday 14th July
2017. This year the two-week
event took place in the Cranford
SuperDome. We decided the
Cranford SuperDome would
be a great venue because of
its inspiring nature and offer
greater protection from the
rain we had experienced in
previous years. The Junior
Citizenship Scheme teaches
year 6 students about becoming
more independent and some of
the dangers they may face. It
encourages the children to make
right choices and covered 13
different scenarios including
the dangers of water, fire safety
in the home, healthy lifestyles
and the dangers of violent
extremism. Over the two
weeks 2500 children took part
from over 30 Hounslow primary
schools and the feedback has
been wholly positive from all
who attended. On Wednesday
12th July 2017 we had a VIP
day attended by the Mayor,
Hounslow Councillors and
senior fire and police officers.
Cranford Community College
continues to be proud to host this
event and its role in engaging
young people in learning
how to stay safe and become
independent young adults.
Alan Fraser
(Assistant Headteacher – Community)
54
Native American visit in celebrating Pocahontas
In
March 2017 Cranford played host to
two Native American chiefs from the
Chickahominy tribe. The two chiefs were here
as part of the commemoration events for the
400th anniversary of the death of Pocahontas. The
real story is that Pocahontas married an
Englishman and spent part of her life living in
Isleworth. She died suddenly at the age of 21 on
a ship returning to America and is now buried in
Gravesend, Kent.
The chiefs gave a special assembly to year 7
students about their culture both now and at
the time when Pocahontas was alive. This was
followed by a tour of the school where the chiefs
commented on how happy and studious the
students were. Later that day they attended the
unveiling of a plaque commemorating the life of
Pocahontas with the Duke of Gloucester.
Alan Fraser (Assistant Headteacher - Community)

Mathematicians with
Distinction
There
have been many successes
over this fantastic year
for our budding mathematicians at Cranford
Community College. Students across all year
groups managed to obtain a grand total of 5
gold, 25 silver and 42 bronze awards in the
various levels of the UK Maths Challenge.
A special mention must go out to Haroon
Lukka (year 9), whose results in the Senior
category were in the top 2000 students in
the whole country, qualifying him for the
next round of competition. Haroon now has
Gold awards in the Junior, Intermediate and
Senior categories. Shargeel Hussain, Rohan
Kapoor, Awo Igaal and Ahmed Ali (year 8)
were amongst the top scorers of the Junior
competition, and have also qualified for
another round at this level.
Saranian Thiagalingham (year 13), Baljinder
Padda, Ahmed Fadhluddin (year 12) and
Teodor Jevtic (year 11) accompanied
Mr Zramalval to the Senior Team Maths
Challenge event in Barnes. They came 11th
out of 30 schools, which is an incredible
achievement as they were up against some of
the top state and private schools in London.
Haroon Lukka, Ahmed Ali, Rajvir Sran and
Harit Boonyarakyotin (year 9) accompanied
Ms Patel to the Junior Team Maths Challenge
event at Haberdashers’ Boys’ School. They
improved significantly from the previous
year, going from 10th place to 4th. This
fantastic position was a real triumph,
competing against other fantastic state and
private schools.
In July the Maths Department ran an excursion
to Bolingbroke Academy for the Timetable
Rock Star London Championship. 35 schools
and over 120 students attended the event.
Jaslina and Manmit Singh and Ayesha Kaur
(year 7) represented Cranford and put in
performances that were well ahead of most
of the students.
Overall, we have been extremely proud of all
our young mathematicians, and are thrilled to
celebrate everything they have accomplished
throughout this academic year.
Sarah Brackley (Head of Maths Department)
Times Table Rock Star
Rock Wrangle
On
Saturday 8th July 2017 I, Jaslina
and Manmit Singh (year 7) went to
Bolingbroke Academy for the Times Table Rock
Star Rock Wrangle. It was an incredibly long train
journey so we were fortunate enough to experience
the picturesque sightings
of London followed by a
walk with nature to our
final destination. The
first round consisted
of twelve sub rounds
which tested our speed
against the clock for
each time table up to
12. It was challenging but the three of us tried
our best encouraging one another. Afterwards, we
enthusiastically sat down in the puzzle room playing
a tense game of Sets which we all really enjoyed.
Then we went to strike a stunning rock pose with
our trendy tattoos, flamboyant pink wigs, stylish
glasses and sassy boom boxes for our rock band
photograph. We nailed it- especially Mr Andrews.
Before the finalist rounds we had an air guitar
competition where I
participated and totally
rocked out with the other
children. Next it was
results time; who was
going to compete in the
quarter finals? Manmit
was one of the top
sixteen to compete in the
quarter finals and it was really thrilling as it was
the first time our school came this far. Manmit
and the other competitors typed like robots- they
were unstoppable and nothing would alter their
concentration. Manmit did awfully well but didn’t
make it to the next round; being in the quarter finals
was definitely something to be very proud of. It was
a spectacular day leaving us a lot to learn from.
Ayesha Kaur (year 7)
55

By
raising awareness of all strands of diversity
we hope to help eliminate discrimination
and promote equality. This cross curricular project
involved all elements of the school curriculum in an
exciting way that maximises efficiency and celebrate
all elements of our school community.
Activities took place in the afternoons where
students worked on STEM, the arts, sports, equlaity
and diversity. The programme was challenging and
pushed students views on topics such as race, gender,
religion and ability.
STEM
Gender imbalance in the current STEM Workforce was
discussed. Why do they think there is one and what
we can do about gender stereotyping, unconscious
bias etc. Then there was a quiz on the stats of STEM
careers, followed by a presentation on how a fantastic
female engineer called Eleanor Stride has engineered
nano bubbles to try to cure cancer. Students then had a
research activity to make their own model of a chosen
nanoparticle and argue its value to society. The class
then voted on the best project..
Arts and Creative
Activities
Theme: Equality, Diversity and Unity
Students watched a performance of ‘Hear our Voices’
which looked at diversity and the impact of extremism
through three short plays. The different arts groups
which students opted moved into working on various
projects including:
Music – Exploring the life and impact of Bob
Marley.
Drama – Developing a response to the ‘Hear our
Voices’ project and collecting responses from
students.
Art – Weaving and threading project. Large scale
artwork in both 2D and 3D form.
Sports – Students took part in traditional sports
day activities and sporting activities that had been
adapted for people with different abilities such as
seated volleyball.
Kevin Biggs
(Senior Teacher - Activities Week)
56

Week 2017
“The year 12 charities project was
good, it was fun to organise our own
event and run it. It was good to be
challenged in a different way”.
“I enjoyed the weaving which
is something I have never
done before”.
“The STEM project was interesting.
I learnt about nanotechnology and
how it can solve problems. I created
a model of a nanotechnology”.
“I really enjoyed the sports afternoon, it
was fun to do adapted sports and work with
my friends on completing team sports”.
57

Annual Borough 6th Form
RE Conference
Cranford Community College was delighted to host the annual Borough 6th Form RE Conference
for the 3rd consecutive year on Friday 16th June 2017. This year saw 6th form students from
Cranford as well as teachers and students from Lampton School and The Green School, think,
discuss, debate and reflect on the theme of “Should religion play a role in identity?”
Students were able to actively engage in big questions about identity and consider what their identity
is made up of. The day involved students visiting various workshops run by teachers from the Institute
of Education, Roehampton as well as Cranford staff. They were then able to participate in a Q&A
session where they had an opportunity to question a variety of speakers. Speakers included:
Billy McCurrie who was 12 years old when his father was killed by the IRA. Consumed with anger,
Billy joined the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) at 16, and a year later was ordered to kill. Sentenced
to life at 17, Billy spent 10 years in the Maze Prison and it was there that a Christmas Eve reading of
the crucifixion story changed his life. Feeling guilt for his crime for the first time, Billy repented and
rediscovered God, becoming one of the first prisoners to renounce violence before eventually being
released. Bharti Taylor (Secretary General of the Hindu Forum of Britain) made history by becoming
the first female to be elected to the post of Secretary General of the Hindu Forum of Britain. She is the
first woman to lead a faith organisation in the UK and was joined by John Leeson from the Humanist
Society, Basil Mann and Charanjit Singh from the Hounslow Friends of Faith and Najeeb Ahmed a
Prevent Coordinator.
The conference was really well received and promoted some excellent debate.
Avneet Kang (Head of RE Department)
58
“I enjoyed the workshops; as a young Muslim myself it was interesting to see
how identity is shaped by such a wide variety of factors”.
Zainab Rahman (year 12)
“My favourite part of the conference during the panel discussion, in particular
listening to Najeeb’s views on Islamaphobia and being a British Muslim”.
Jaspreet Mann (year 12)
“An interesting speech was given by Najeeb, a member of the Muslim community.
He spoke about different beliefs and aspects of religion and how these influence
identity”.
Imaan Haque (year 12)
“I really enjoyed Ms Birdi’s
workshop; she questioned our
beliefs and ideas and by the end
of the workshop I was thinking
about my identity”.
Kumail Abbas (year 12)

Dream Rewards Day 2017
The
annual DREAM Rewards Day on Thursday 20th July 2017
saw over 1000 students partake in various events across
the South East of England. This year there was more choice than ever
with up to thirteen activities on offer ranging from a training day with
the Royal Navy, swimming, a trip to Brighton, to the hugely popular
trips to Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures. Year 12
students embarked on the annual Monopoly Challenge around London,
all competing to win the prize of being first back to school having
completed all the competition tasks. Thank you to all the staff and
students who took part and made the day such fun for everyone and
to the admin team led by Ms Brown for the mammoth task of ensuring
everyone got to the right activity. The day was a great success and most
importantly everyone came back with a smile on their face.
Matt Southern-Myers (Head of Pastoral - Senior Teacher)
Year 12 Monopoly Challenge
This
year’s Monopoly Challenge was a great success with
each team being highly competitive. For some students,
this was the first time they had ventured into London and
there was a definite air of excitement as they were briefed
at the start of the day and an eagerness to get started. The
winning team led by Mr Andrews had lunch on the go to
avoid losing time and clearly it paid off. I was so proud
of the way the year group took on the challenge. They
showed great determination and enthusiasm in the way
they approached the task and a real sense of healthy
competitiveness when the winners were announced.
Well done year 12. A great end to a very successful
year.
Sharandeep Saroya (Head of Year 12)
Brighton
Rewards Day
Trip
For
Rewards Day, I
went on the trip
to Brighton. The journey
down took approximately 1
hour and 45 minutes, which
is not bad at all. When we
arrived in Brighton, we
formed into groups of 3
students. Each group would
do what they want for the
whole day. However, I
was lucky enough as an
ASD student to go with Mr
Dobison into Brighton City
Centre. There are many nice
shops (as well as buses)
in Brighton that I saw. In
general, I would say that
Brighton is a beautiful city.
I had some fish and chips
for lunch, but the food from
the place wasn’t nice. I also
had an ice cream that tasted
good. We then went to look
at the Pavilion Gardens
which were beautiful. After
that, we headed back to the
beach and relaxed until it
was time to go home.
Daniel Ortega (year 8)
59

News from Year 7
What
a brilliant first year at Cranford for year 7 who have been involved in so many
wonderful events and activities whilst learning new skills and embracing every
opportunity to do well academically. They finished off their year with a week-long charity fund raising
initiative for the Grenfell Tower disaster fund raising an additional £446 to add to the whole school
fund as reported on the Charities page. Well done year 7. Ms Jenkins and I are extremely proud of
you and all you have achieved and look forward to year 8.
Randeep Sidhu and Tammy Jenkins (Head of Year 7 and Year Manager)
Grenfell Tower fundraising
On
Friday 23rd June 2017 I participated in raising money for the Grenfell
Tower disaster. I chose to participate to help the families who had
been affected by the tragedy. I helped collect donations at the gate where we
held buckets, accepting donations. Some people were donating at the gate but a
vast majority saved their money for activities or treats We worked shifts of 15
minutes each. I started at 8 and finished at 9 a.m.
60
During the incident the tower was encased in a massive fire. I felt happy that I helped the less fortunate
who lost those close to them. Our target was £1150 and we raised £1322. I was glad we raised an
extra £172 to help people affected by the incident. There were activities you could participate in for
£1. You could buy items, play dodgeball, buy cakes or play capture the flag. I spent my pound on
a cake. Some people came in as early as 8 a.m. to accept donations from others. Other people gave
things to the hatch which could be sold for a pound, some brought in cakes. Some people helped by
assisting while selling the cakes or the various items. Many people brought more than the agreed £1
contribution, this is the reason why we raised £1322.
Harsimran Bath (year 7)

Bowling Rewards Trip
On
An Amazing Trip
Wednesday 14th December 2016, four
lucky children from each year 7 class
were rewarded to a magnificent, extraordinary
trip to go ice skating in Hampton Court Palace.
The reason why these four people got chosen was
because they worked hard to get the highest dream
points in the class and they were good year 7 role
models, but don’t worry the people who didn’t get
to go, they have still got up to year 11 where they
can work hard and get a huge reward for what they
deserve.
When we entered I was so shocked and surprised
because, in front of me was a colossal palace. When
we were getting ready to go ice skating, we had to
give in our shoes so we could get our skates and
have some fun.
When we got out onto the ring I was confident in
myself, but boy was I wrong. As soon as I put one
foot down I was flying everywhere and bashing
into the ring; it was so embarrassing and it was a
nightmare. Half way round I fell on my back and
then my knees so I thought I should take some time
out because I was injuring myself one too many
times.
Then I thought to myself why did they have to call
it ‘ice skating’ I mean why couldn’t they call it,
‘How many times can you fall in an ice rink’ the
person with the highest score wins, because surely
I would have one that.
Afterwards two good friends of mine called Robert
and Ryan, told me to get back into the ring and try
again. I thought to myself ‘Satnam don’t give up
try your hardest and you’ll get the hang of it.’ So, I
finally got up and guess what, I got the hang of it.
So overall my experience of ice skating was great
and a real learning experience.
A big shout out to Ms Jenkins, Ms Sidhu and all
the other teachers for organising this. Thank you.
Satnam Curry (year 7)
Producing hard work, showing positive
behaviour around the school and overall
being a good role model to their own
forms: these are qualities 4 students from each
form in year seven (including us) had shown to
receive the award of going on an entertaining trip
to airport bowls.
As we approached Airport Bowls, there was a lot
of excitement as we couldn’t wait to start playing.
However, before we put all our energy into
bowling, we’d purchased some delectable snacks
and collected our shoes. After we’d eaten, we
were split into five extremely competitive groups
(including the teachers’ extremely competitive
group as well). As we had filled our names into
the bowling results chart, certain individuals
were boasting about how they were going to
win. During the first few courses of the game, it
seemed like the bowling balls were
dodging the pins and at one point,
a girl in our team “accidentally”
rolled the ball for a teacher who
wasn’t very impressed when they
found out.
Saffiyaa Patankar in 7Z got the
highest score of an amazing 105
and Mr Nation-Tellery had the
highest score out of the
teachers with 96.
We would like to
thank Ms Sidhu,
Ms Jenkins and Mr
Nation-Tellery for
organising and taking
us on the trip.
Shamaila Baig and
Saffiyaa Patankar (year 7)
61

This
academic year has
been nothing but
eventful for year
8 students. They have had an unlimited
number of opportunities to develop
themselves academically and as young
adults learning core skills and values along
the way.
Year 8 - From Me to We
Some of the opportunities students
have included: the role models project,
Shakespeare in School, the year 8 band,
participating in sporting events and fixtures,
Youth Sports Awards, and TI days.
However, the year 8 project is probably the one that stands out the most. This was part of their new
curriculum and was focused on core strands of community cohesion, communication, team work and
respect. Year 8 students developed these four main strands whilst developing a legacy and a constant
reminder for year 8 of what can be done if people work together effectively as a team.
This challenging project has come along really well and I am very proud of the hard work the students
and staff involved have put into the conservation area as now it will be more actively used by the whole
school community. We talk a lot when we start school about the ‘legacy’ we leave behind, and while
we hope this is achieved through excellent grades and further success, being involved in a project like
this has already begun to create that legacy for our year 8 students.
Well done to all involved and a special thank you to Mr Biggs for his support with the planning and
organising of the project.
Hamesh Rattu and Yas Ashfaq (Head of Year 8 and Year Manager)
Year 8 Lego® project
On
Thursday 9th March 2017, Cranford held a Personal
Development Day where the normal school timetable
was collapsed for bespoke work on activities and topics relevant
to a year group.Year 8 students enjoyed the Lego Project challenge
which required them to deal with various technical information,
work in teams and compete against their peers in a final race. During
the session, students were inspired by employees of Heathrow and
had the opportunity to build a robot and programme it using LEGO®
MINDSTORMS making it following complex commands. Once
programmed the robots participated in the robot “race off”. It was
a fun and engaging day where students learnt how to problem
solve and work together in a
business environment. Year
8 students developed lots
of employability skills and
were challenged to solve
problems.
Kevin Biggs (Senior Teacher)
62

WFactor and Period 0 - Enrichment at its best
2016-2017
has seen continued
development in the
enrichment provision during WFactor and period 0.
Student leadership of activities has become a major feature
of the enrichment programme with students in key stage 5
running sessions for students across the school in a variety of
topics. These include running introductory language courses,
sports and current affairs. In addition, students have been
working with teachers to broaden horizons and have worked
on topics including gothic literature projects, construction,
music and drama production. Cranford has introduced its
own horticultural society and train club. There has been a focus on healthy living with students having
opportunities to improve their own health including fitness, dodgeball, swimming, rugby,
athletics and cricket.
Kevin Biggs (Senior Teacher - Enrichment)
63

Year 11
ROA and PROM 2017 - A Significant Milestone
Wednesday 5th July 2017 marked a
significant milestone in the lives of
the year 11 class of 2017, starting with the
Record of Achievement event to celebrate
their last five years at Cranford. The
entire cohort worked very hard for their
GCSEs, and the ROA helped recognise
their achievements and drive in the run
up to the examination. It started with an
excellent performance by the year 11
band who performed “New Divide” by
Linkin Park followed by the awards, a
staff performance of “Counting Stars” by
One Republic and the year group video.
The evening was amazing and thoroughly
enjoyable for parents, carers, staff and
students.
The celebration continued with the Prom
at the Riverside. The students looked very
glamorous, were impeccable and really
enjoyed themselves. There was a further
award ceremony where tutors rewarded
their tutees, Head of Year awards and
awards voted by the students. Lewis
Tirahan and Naomi Clelland
won Prom King and
Prom Queen.
I would like to thank
everyone who helped make
the day a success especially
Ms. Prunty, Mr. Biggs, Mr.
Myers, the Prom Committee
and Haashim Nisar for the
leavers video.
Shawn D’Sousa (Head of year 11)
64

“It
is truly an honour and privilege to be standing
here addressing all of you on this momentous
day. I have to say that I am very proud of the
young men and women seated here today and I say men and
women because it has been amazing to see you all mature and
flourish into who you are today.
July 2012, I was looking forward to the London Olympics, I was
the head of year 13, just waved goodbye to my year group and
preparing for the year 13 ROA and Prom. I was informed that
I would be going to be head of year 7 and moving
up through the years with a brand new year group.
During my time at Cranford I had always been in
the sixth form and the thought of having to start
with a year 7 group was daunting.
It was around this time of year that all of you
turned up for your taster day and I got to meet
you. Over the years a few have left and a few more
have joined and all of you have been amazing. You
were a year group of many firsts. First to wear the
new Cranford smarter uniform looking very smart
on that first day. You were one of the first groups
to have a very strong male and female rugby team
that went onto many competitions and successes.
You were first to take on the challenge of the new
1 – 9 GCSEs in English and maths, paving the way
for all the year groups to follow.
My friends and family who are not in teaching often ask me,
how do you do it. How do you deal with teenagers? Why put
yourself through the stress?
Well I tell them that there isn’t single day in my life, as head
of year that has been the same. Every day in this job I am
surrounded by inspirational, motivated, enthusiastic, clever,
talented and interesting young individuals. I am guaranteed
to have a positive experience, guaranteed an interesting chat,
guaranteed a challenge and guaranteed to have laugh.
To the parents, carers and senior teachers here today, who gave me the
opportunity to work with you over the last 5 years, I have to say thank
you. Thank you for the opportunity to work with a
bunch of phenomenal young people.
Over the last few months I would park my bicycle
in the memorial garden and make my way into
the school. I witnessed the majority of you in
school early, attending additional revision in
period 0 and staying late after school even
after period 6 would end. Weekends, end
of term breaks. I have seen the effort that
you have put in. So year 11, I hope that
this summer will provide you with a set of
exam results that you are proud of and will
propel you into an amazing future.
I say that I wouldn’t have been able to do this
without an amazing team backing me. The
tutor team over the years have been amazing;
thank you. Also a massive thank you to all
your teachers, I wouldn’t have been able to
do it without all of them.
And lastly after all the hard work over the
last few months, the massive effort that you all made and all the
preparation. I do hope your results are amazing this summer. Please give
yourselves a massive round of applause”.
Shawn D’Sousa (Head of year 11)
65

Year 12
Cranford
Youth
Talks
2017
On
Thursday 18th, May 2017, Lucy Tirahan
and I had the lovely opportunity of hosting
the inaugural Cranford Youth Talks event. The
event consisted of students from year 12, who were
given the chance to express themselves on a topic
they felt passionate about. The topics varied from
understanding technological advancement to the
importance of self-worth. It was absolutely fascinating
to hear all of the eleven students convey their zeal on the subjects/issues they discussed. One thing I was
able to notice about the speakers, as they spoke, was their growth in confidence. You could feel the
energy, the passion and the excitement as they imparted their wisdom to the audience. I felt so proud
of all the speakers as for some it was the first time they had spoken in front of large audience and they
handled their nerves to deliver heartfelt and thought-provoking speeches.
I feel honoured that I had the opportunity to co-host this event, the first of its kind at Cranford. We
need more people to express themselves and have their voices heard so they can find what they feel
passionate about and hopefully inspire others to find their passion. This event was designed so anyone,
regardless of race or background, could have the opportunity to have their voices heard. I’d like to
say thank you to Ms Saroya for organising the event and a massive thank you to those who took part.
We certainly look forward to next year’s Youth Talks, as we hope to hear new voices and discover
hidden talents here at Cranford.
Kulbir Maras (year 12)
66

Eton University Summer School
Attending the Eton University
summer school was an
incredible opportunity to
experience English at degree level;
I attended the summer school with Baljinder
Padda who did double mathematics and Samiha
Begum who did history of art. It was challenging
but informative and allowed me to understand the
UCAS process better. I was not only challenged
academically, but also got to meet amazing people
from all over the UK. It was a ten-day residential
course, something I had never experienced
before and encouraged me to become more
independent. The academic side of the course
included analysis of medieval literature and
literary criticisms, whereas the recreational side
of the course meant we also got to have a break by
playing sport. On the weekend we were given a day
off lessons and got to take part in special activities;
I was lucky enough to be given a place on the
silverwork course where I got to make my own
ring. ​The lessons were mainly discussion based
and working in small groups improved my ability
to articulate myself. In addition to lessons, all
courses were given the opportunity to have mock
interviews and a question panel with Oxbridge professors which was insightful as we were educated
on the application process. The English course specifically were given the chance to do an ELAT
(English Literature Admissions Test); this was another example of how we prepared ourselves for
university by doing activities which are not included on our school specification.
I would like to thank the school for sponsoring us to go and the charity ‘Spark!’ for providing support
during the application process. The charity held a period 0 session where they showed us previous
applications which were successful,
giving us an idea of how to make
our own applications suitable. It
was a competitive process and I
feel incredibly privileged to have
been chosen. I am grateful for the
opportunity because it has reassured
me that you are capable of getting
into top universities if you work
hard enough, regardless of what
area your school is in. I would
encourage anyone to take up this
opportunity if it is offered to them,
especially if there is a subject you
are passionate about and know you
want to pursue in the future, as it will
give you a chance to explore depths
unknown to you.
Lucy Tirahan (year 12)
Intensively studying mathematics for ten days was unlike anything I had
previously been exposed to. We were introduced to topics beyond our
specification with a prime focus on Oxbridge applications, for example:
I learnt how to prove theorems I had previously taken for granted giving
me a better understanding of the workings behind mathematics. We also
focused on improving our problem-solving skills by tackling Cambridge
examination questions.
Baljinder Padda (year 12)
Studying history of art at the Eton University Summer School for 10 days
reinforced my desire to study architecture. The intensive course consisted
of many trips to galleries to study the artworks on display- we visited the
National Gallery, Tate Britain and the Wallace Collection. During my time
at Eton I realised that I would thrive in a creative subject like architecture,
and my teacher Mr Nolan motivated me to work hard to reach my goals.
The support he provided made me realise that in order to succeed, I need to
be proactive; we visited an architects’ firm where I organised some work
experience over the summer. Overall, my experience at Eton was incredible,
my peers and teachers all gave me a new enthusiasm for learning and
motivated me to do the best that I can to succeed.
Samiha Begum (year 12)
67

Year 13 - Celebration Evening
The
Year 13 Celebration Evening took place on
Thursday 25th May 2017 in the Concert Hall
and Memorial Garden at Cranford Community College,
which was attended by staff, students and parents. The evening was filled with speeches, entertainment,
more speeches and finally a big farewell to our year 13 students 2016-2017 in the Memorial Garden
with a glass of prosecco or two.
The evening started with the Leadership Quartet welcoming staff, students and parents and sharing their
great memories of the last 7 years alongside their hopes for the future. Sahi and Hasan are
truly an example of what any year group could ask
for in a Head Boy and Girl: committed, confident,
ambitious and most of all approachable. Mr Stumpf
and Ms Gerber then took to the stage to congratulate
students on their achievements so far and
remind them that even though this
chapter of their lives has come to a
close the doors will always be open
to them as Cranford Alumni.
We were entertained with a fusion
dance piece by Shafla Sharaz and
Eliza Thapa who danced to a medley
of songs ranging from Bollywood to
modern pop. Following that Mr Cripps,
Head of Sixth Form, spoke about his memories of the
year group in the short amount of time he’d got to know them,
how proud he was of every student and how he had high hopes for
them in the future.
Next up was Ziah Charles who sang a beautiful rendition of ‘Running’
by Beyonce which captured the audience’s attention from start to finish.
Ms Jenkins and Ms Kaher were invited on stage to impart their wisdom
about the road ahead for year 13 students and share their wonderful
moments together. Ms Kaher has been with this year group since they
were in year 7 and her speech was filled with enjoyable moments from those 7 years.
The final performance of the evening was a mash up dance performance by Jasveen Wadhwa who is
also part of ‘Karan’s Bollywood masterclass and Kspark Entertainments’ which was then followed by
me, Ms Bahra Head of Year 13 expressing how extremely proud I was to be Head of Year to a fantastic
year group who had faced many hurdles in their journey to adulthood but as true stars came out the
other side shining brighter than ever. These are students who never gave up their on dreams and have
grown into fine young men and women who are ready to embark on the next chapter of their lives.
It was then up to Shafla Sharaz to wow us with her farewell film which was received with lots of
laughter, cheers and a few tears. Our Leadership Quartet then closed the formal part of the evening
and did an amazing job at hosting, and as ever were dressed immaculately, spoke with conviction and
did Cranford proud.
Year 13 students were then invited to the Memorial Garden to say farewell to their peers and teachers
in a more relaxed setting. The evening was a huge success and only achievable with the support from
students, parents and staff.
68
Deepak Bahra (Head of year 13)

69

Introducing the Sixth Form Student Leadership Team 2017-2018
The
annual Sixth Form Student Leadership election for 2017-2018 took place in July
2017 and was hotly contested by a number of highly eligible and well-deserving
applicants. We were overwhelmed by the quality of applications and were spoilt for choice when
it came to shortlisting. Fortunately, we had the help of students from across the school to assist
in the election process, scrutinising their manifestos and giving them tough panel interviews. This
year we decided to extend the team to six to reflect the quality of candidates. Congratulations to
Aadil Awan Head Boy, Jessica Atouguia Head Girl, Mustafa Ahmed and Kulbir Maras, Deputy
Head Boy and Lucy Tirahan and Zala Amiri, Deputy Head Girl.
Mark Cripps (Head of Sixth Form)
“As I have progressed through the years at
Cranford Community College all the way
from year 7 to year 12, I have realised that
the honourable and prestigious role of Head
Boy is one that I want to pursue. This has
all come from my passion for my school, the
foundation it gives to students to prosper
further in all aspects of their life and the opportunities
Cranford has afforded me. I strongly believe that taking
on the role of Head Boy would allow me to bring positive
change to our school”.
Aadil Awan (Head Boy)
“I believe this school is an amazing place
to learn, grow and enjoy. As a “beyond
outstanding” school we require representatives
that live up to that name. I believe I have the
right qualifications and experience from my
position as Regional Youth Board member to
carry the mantel as Deputy Head Boy. I wish
to bring a new viewpoint as well as leave a legacy at this
wonderful school. This school has done a lot for me and I
feel it is only fitting to repay the school by trying my best
to improve it”.
Mustafa Ahmed (Deputy Head Boy)
70
“I have always wanted to make a change, be
it a physical change in the world or changing
the mentality and the way people think. I have
striven to bring myself closer to this goal
every day and the role of Head Girl would
be perfect to achieve this, a role of extreme
importance that can help me continue to
inspire those around me to be not only themselves, but the
best version possible of themselves. It requires someone
who is willing to take responsibility for their actions and
will take on the role of a leader not only in school, but
in the community. I aim to inspire myself through my
motivation and the motivation of others”.
Jessica Atouguia (Head Girl)
“The opportunity of becoming Deputy Head
Girl of Cranford Community College, has
been a wish as well as a goal for me. I believe
this opportunity is an exceptional way for me
to gain numerous skills, which I can carry
with me throughout my entire life. I would
love to be able to use these skills I have
learnt to contribute to our school and make our school
an even greater educational place for students”.
Zala Amiri, (Deputy Head Girl)
“The position of Deputy Head Girl is a
role I can passionately fulfil. Having been
at Cranford since year seven, I have been
provided with incredible opportunities to
find myself as a person and would love to
reciprocate this role for the younger years.
Through my time at Cranford I feel that I have
acquired the necessary skills for this position, for example,
good leadership skills. I am dedicated to ensuring the
school remains a safe, positive learning environment for
everyone and would ensure that any schemes implemented
would meet these criteria”.
Lucy Tirahan (Deputy Head Girl)
“During my six years at Cranford, I have striven
to become a welcoming and recognisable
figure to not only my peers and teachers, but
around the school as a whole. This has greatly
developed my interpersonal skills, enabling
me to be a highly approachable individual,
which I believe is a key quality that a Deputy
Head Boy embodies. I am aware of the challenges that lie
ahead and I fully embrace challenges as for me it is what
brings the best out of people”.
Kulbir Maras (Deputy Head Boy)