Cranford Review 2021

Some key interactive activities that the school used included:
SIXTH FORM
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• Breakout rooms on Teams which allowed students to participate in group work.
• Online quizzes using Microsoft forms and Kahoot which promoted recall of knowledge
and understanding mixed with light competition.
• Meaningful homework to continue to be regularly set and marked using assignments on
Teams.
• Teacher’s consistently asking students to unmute to give their responses and promoting
discussions using the chat feature in lessons.
• Teachers checking work in real time and giving feedback as it was being complete using
One Note Class Notebook.
In addition to this, the sixth form students were also fully engaged in the pastoral programme of the school
as they still virtually attended form time in the morning where they were attending virtual assemblies, taking
part in Thought for the Week, Academic Reading and VESPA. Sixth form students were also receiving support
via telephone and Teams calls to help them progress to the next stage in their education through UCAS and
apprenticeship application support. Student wellbeing was a big focus in form time and we supplemented this
through wellbeing workshops that took place weekly after school. Some topics in the workshops included:
understanding and managing anxiety, how to make space for your wellbeing in a big household, routines and
creating a productive environment, dealing with uncertainty and managing emotions and panic attacks. These
workshops had an extremely large take up and student found these workshops useful as they could apply the
practical advice into their lives straight away.
Cranford is extremely proud of the resilience, positivity, enthusiasm and determination of pupils during the
remote learning period where students continued to make exceptional progress and experience the highest
quality of education provision despite the national lockdown. Needless to say, everyone was delighted to be
able to return to on site learning on 8th March 2021.
Chetan Shingadia (Assistant Headteacher Post 16)
SIXTH FORM
Student Testimonials – Lockdown Stories 1/3
After hearing the announcement of yet another national
lockdown, it was a stressful start to 2021. Virtual school
became the new ‘normal’ and as well as experiencing
a whole new platform of learning, my teachers worked
their hardest in ensuring as much normality as possible
by delivering lessons each period via Microsoft
Teams. Although sometimes being told “your mic is
muted” when speaking, or the video suddenly freezing,
each 50-minute lesson was as engaging as it could be,
as if we were sitting in the classroom. My teachers were
proactive as I was still required to sit timed essays, go
through exam questions at the end of each lesson and
use the ‘interactive whiteboard’ feature together as a
class. I could ask my teachers any questions regarding the
content covered as they would remain online throughout the
school day. Each day felt like living the same day on repeat
and it was a challenge to stay motivated. However, I made
sure I followed a structured daily routine by following my
timetable as if I were at school. I treated ‘break 1’ and
‘break 2’ as the half hour opportunity to come away from
my laptop screen and used my ‘study centre periods’ as
an opportunity to do my own revision. I managed my
own wellbeing and positive mind set by taking my dog
for a walk after the end of the school day and spent time
with my family in the evenings; I also stayed in daily
contact with my friends. Losing my Grandma in the
midst of all of this was a difficult challenge for myself,
however my teachers and the school were very supportive
and understanding. Overall, my experience with virtual
school has definitely been a steep learning curve and
although experiencing online learning is very valuable,
it made me realise how much of a privilege it is to attend
school in person.
Gurshaan Ghattoray (year 12)
Covid-19 has bought a sense of uncertainty in our lives.
As a young person, I have had to think about things
twice before any step - not just in academia. Coronavirus
definitely has its advantages and disadvantages. During
lockdown, my lessons were online however this time
there was more effort needed than before. Teachers at
Cranford were really understanding about the situation.
For example, Ms Agarwal, my chemistry teacher was
really good at delivering lessons online but also keeping
us engaged at each point. She would actually use the
board by making annotations on her PowerPoint rather
than just reading off it. Our homework was also set and
submitted online. One thing that I have learnt from my
teachers during lockdown is that communication is key,
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