NEWSLETTER: SPRING TERM 2017
I am delighted to welcome you all to the
Spring edition of the COLAI termly
newsletter. This issue contains an
impressive array of some Spring term
events and trips that students have
participated in and some proud
achievements.
I am very proud to report that Nick Gibb
has sent us a letter of congratulations for
the staff and pupils, for the high levels of
progress our students are making. He
writes “The Academy’s results show that
the City of London Academy Islington is
amongst the top five per cent of schools
in terms of progress pupils make between
Key Stage 2 and the end of Key Stage 4,
using the Progress 8 measure.” This is
excellent recognition of the outstanding
progress made by our students;
congratulations to all staff, students and
families involved.
Clear, crucial improvements are ongoing
to secure our students’ high levels of
success at the Academy and we are
committed to working in partnership with
you, our parents and carers, in providing
the absolute best for our young people.
I would like to give my thanks to all
parents/carers who attended Years 8, 9,
11, 12 and 13 Parents’ Evenings earlier
this term. I believe a key factor in the
academic and personal success of every
child is your engagement in your child’s
education and I thank you for your
excellent attendance. All the staff at the
Academy are grateful for your support and
your active involvement. Thank you.
We firmly believe all students can succeed
and we work to inspire a determination
within the Academy for all to achieve the
highest of expectations. I hope you enjoy
the latest edition of the newsletter; I am
proud to share our news and
achievements with you.
Very best wishes,
Miss C. Verga
Principal
IN THIS EDITION...
Editor: Mr March
Music & Drama News
4
Trips & Events
14
Sports News
7
The Reading Corner
19
CCF News
10
Homework Projects
20
Work Experience
11
Governor Updates
21
Art Splash
12
Heads of House Hello!
22
ACADEMY TEACHER
WINS AWARD
&
This term, as Head Girl and Head Boy, we have
been incredibly busy; we have been able to do
many amazing things with the students. We have
worked with the student council and been to
each individual tutor group in the Academy,
telling students about their basic human rights,
and how the Academy fulfils these rights every
day. We have been working on a Human Rights as
a Child project. This is enabling us to work
towards winning an award for the school. All of
the tutor groups have had thoughtful discussions
about their human rights and now the
competition is open for making a poster,
explaining one of these rights. Next term we will
be working on making the school more visibly
celebratory of our rights and making sure
everybody is more aware of them, by putting up
the winning posters. We are very much looking
forward to seeing all of the designs! It has been a
wonderful experience showing students their
human rights and we would love to do another
project with the student council involving the
student body.
Lana-May Mills & Michael Adegboyega
Year 12
Year 13
E a c h y e a r O x f or d
University invites nominations
from its students for teachers
who they believe had helped
them to achieve a place at the
university. Two students from
my previous school are now in
their first year of studying mathematics and
history; they were kind enough to nominate me,
and the judges decided that I would be one of 10
teachers to win their Inspirational Teacher Award
2017.
In preparation for the awards ceremony in May, a
film crew visited the Academy for an interview
which covered my thoughts about the award, the
subject I teach and what I have learned during
my teaching career so far. They also filmed a
lesson with my Year 10 sociology class, whose
behaviour and effort on the day was exemplary.
Whilst this was a strange new experience – no
teacher believes they should be given an award
for simply doing their job – it was lovely to see
the enthusiasm generated by the students and will
hopefully encourage them to believe that
universities like Oxford are destinations they
could aspire to in the future.
Mr Robertson
Curriculum Leader for Social Sciences
Page | 2
DEBATE MATE
CHAMPION
TOP CADET WINS
BEN KINSELLA
AWARD
George Sansum was awarded a prestigious prize
for his powerful speech in a national debating
competition. The Year 8 student’s speaking skills
were noted after his impressive showing in the
latest round of Debate Mate’s Urban Debate
League.
One of the motions debated at the event was
selected by representatives from Comic Relief.
George was chosen as one of just six winners in
the Drop the Mic challenge after judges observed
hundreds of speakers around the country
throughout March.
A spokesman for Debate Mate said:
Quoted from the Islington Gazette:
-
-
As a prize, Comic Relief invited George and a
guest to the rehearsal of Let's Sing and Dance for
Comic Relief on Saturday 25th March at BBC
Elstree Studios.
Mr Davis
English Teacher
For more, click the article link on the
Latest News section of the Academy website:
www.colai.org.uk/Latest-News
Page | 3
MUSIC & DRAMA NEWS
CITY SCHOOLS
CONCERT
WICKED
The Academy Orchestra and Choir
performed at the City Schools Concert at Milton
Court on 30th January. The occasion was fantastic
and our students felt extremely privileged to
perform at such a reputable venue. The Academy
Choir performed a Gospel arrangement of
Beethoven’s Ode to Joy and the Academy
Orchestra performed a film music medley which
included the themes from Jurassic Park and Pirates
of the Caribbean.
A group of Year 7 students were lucky
enough to go and see Wicked at the Apollo
Victoria Theatre. The show, which tells the story
of prejudice and friendship, is visually spectacular
and totally engaging throughout.
Tisha Patel, Year 7
“
”
Teodora Mitaru, Year 10
ALADDIN
A group of very excitable students (plus Mr
Smith, Miss Green and Miss Kiley-Smith) went
to see the new musical Aladdin. The show is
based on the Disney film, the story of a young
orphan boy who finds a magic lamp, changing his
life forever.
ART
For the second instalment of the Old Vic/
New Voices project, Year 9 students went to see
Art at The Old Vic and took part in a workshop
with professional theatre directors based on the
play. Art is a three-man play that tells the story of
the changes in relationships after one friend buys
a piece of artwork. A challenging piece of theatre
that received mixed reviews from the Year 9s.
Page | 4
LONDON SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA
DISCOVERY CONCERT
The Academy orchestra attended an
inspiring exploration of the building blocks of
Stravinsky’s music, culminating in a full
performance of The Rite Of Spring given by the
London Symphony Orchestra in the Barbican
Hall. The performance was also accompanied by
dramatic and exciting animations commissioned
for this project. The students thoroughly enjoyed
the chance to see a complete symphony orchestra
in action as well as listening to such a
revolutionary piece of music.
EDDIE REDMAYNE
Q&A
Four Sixth Form students were lucky
enough to attend a Q&A session with Fantastic
Beasts actor Eddie Redmayne. He spent an hour
answering some excellent questions from drama
students and our own Callum Finlay. Eddie was
then presented with the Freedom of the City for
his contribution to the arts – a truly inspiring
person.
ROSENCRANTZ AND
GUILDENSTERN ARE
DEAD
For the third instalment of the Old Vic/
New Voices project students went to see
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom
Stoppard, starring Harry Potter star Daniel
Radcliffe. Yet again the students represented the
Academy well and enjoyed the production.
Page | 5
MUSIC & DRAMA NEWS
STAGE MAKE-UP
Year 8 students got creative in Drama this
half term exploring the visual aspects of putting
on a performance. A workshop on stage make-up
was the highlight, where students got to get gory
and zombiefy themselves and each other.
SWORD FIGHTING!
During their study of Romeo and Juliet,
Year 9 drama students had the opportunity to
learn how to swordfight. Using real stage-fighting
techniques, the students choreographed a duel
between Romeo and Tybalt, fighting to their
(pretend) death. Special mentions to go Javi Bone
and Zac Miah for their Harry Potter-inspired duel, ending in a tense stand-off, and Luna Vassell
and Teanna Moses for breaking the most bamboo sticks – watch out for those two, they are
brutal swordswomen.
Page | 6
SPORTS NEWS
FOOTBALL:
PETCHEY ACADEMY
VERSUS COLAI
The Sixth Form football team were extremely
excited when it was confirmed that they had a
match arranged for Thursday 9th February. The
friendly game against Petchey Academy caused
further jubilation when they found out that they
were playing against the Academy’s former Head
of PE, Mr Martins.
On the day, we headed towards Dalston to the
Petchey Academy and were well received by Mr
Martins. Students and staff alike were pleased to
see him again and they had a chance for some
light hearted banter, quoting “may the best team
win”.
We made our way to their football pitch, which
to our surprise was state-of-the-art 4G Astroturf,
making this a wonderful playing surface
experience. The Academy team won the toss to
start the game. As soon as the whistle blew,
Petchey’s strength and physical prowess stunned
a few of our boys, putting them under pressure.
They found themselves chasing the ball for most
of the first half which was dominated by the
Petchey Academy. By the half-time whistle they
found themselves 1-0 down.
The half-time team talk by Mr Lucas and a
changing of positions with substitutes paid
dividends at the start of the second half. The
Academy sixth formers raised their game,
demonstrating at times how to play the beautiful
game of football, with quick, accurate passing,
leading up to several attempts on the goal, hitting
the crossbar and the post. Our goalkeeper, Aram
Mustafa, was superb throughout with a string of
saves, contributing to the low score line. The
Academy team had no choice but to throw
everything bar the kitchen sink at Petchey
Academy, going all-out to attack, putting Petchey
on the back foot. This created frustration in the
Petchey 12-yard box that brought about an
Academy penalty; Ibrahim Rahman showed great
composure in stepping up to take the penalty,
slotting the ball past the diving goal keeper.
Spirits were high at 1-1 and the Academy team
had a spring in their step, showing great energy in
search of the equaliser. In their quest, they were
undone and Petchey scored two more goals in
short succession. However, the team did not take
their foot off the pedal in search of more goals,
only for the final whistle to stop them in their
tracks. A very entertaining match on a bitterly
cold evening, the final score was 3-1 to Petchey
Academy.
We are looking forward to the return match on
our home pitch to make amends.
Mr Nwokeji
Physical Education Teacher
Sixth Form Football Team
Left-to-right: (back row) Arifur Rahman, Arjend Asllani,
Michael Adegboyega, Diren Kirdag, Mr Nwokeji, Denis
Cinpoat, Ibrahim Rahman, Kalender Corten (front row)
Tanjeeb Ahmed, Mehrab Rahmam, Zaki Hussain, Can
Arslan, Sergio Orlas Aram Mustafa
Page | 7
SPORTS NEWS
BASKETBALL
ROUND-UP
The boys’ basketball teams continue to
compete impressively in the Islington Basketball
League. Having won the Year 9 League, the
standard was set high for Year 7s and Year 8s. It
is fair to say that the Year 8 team had several very
close matches but too often found themselves on
the wrong side of a close-score line. Their standout performance came in a home fixture against
Saint Marry Magdalene Academy: finishing 20-17,
both teams went right to the wire with an
exciting three point shot settling it for the
opposition.
CROSS
CHAMPIONSHIPS
Our cross country team recently competed
in the London Cross Country Championships.
This was a prestigious event with the top eight in
each age group qualifying to represent London at
the National Finals. Consequently, the standard
was very high with some races having over 200
competitors. Students ran at Wormwood Scrubs
playing fields in what is fair to say was a mud
bath in patches! Some competitors were even
seen strapping trainers to their feet for fear of
losing them! Congratulations to Valentina
Sharpe, our highest placed runner who finished
within the top 50 in London. The picture was
taken before the mud really got us!
The Year 7 team still have some fixtures left to
play this season but have enjoyed more success;
with coming fixtures against Holloway School
and AMSI, there is still every chance they could
finish with medals round their necks. Good luck
boys!
Page | 8
The Year 8 athletics team competed in a
one-off event at Saint Aloysius College against
other Islington schools to represent Islington at
the London Youth Games. The girls, to their
credit, produced several stand-out performances
and finished third overall. The relay team in
particular produced a phenomenal finish. The
boys’ team finished just outside the medals but
special credit must go to Teddy Jones and Josh
Gruby who both ran extra races due to illness in
our team.
Year 7 team were riding high at the top of the
league and earned themselves bragging rights for
weeks. However due to a number of unforeseen
circumstances, the team lost their way slightly. By
the end of the tournament the Academy finished
in 4th position.
NETBALL
It has been a busy few months for the Year
7 netball team. They have been making regular
trips to Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (EGA)
School to create links with other school netball
teams and attend borough-led training sessions.
This has also provided the opportunity for our
talented girls to be potentially spotted by the
borough scouts to represent Camden and
Islington in matches.
Our team entered the Camden and Islington
Year 7 league which began in January 2017,
running over a four week period. The league was
hosted by EGA and took place after school.
Netball has given the Academy girls the chance
to develop attacking and defending at speed
during matches, quick decision making on court,
individual confidence and the ability to play
against unknown opponents. They have also
learnt about netball sporting protocol such as
shaking hands with the opposing team after each
match as well as the cheering ritual.
Our match preparation started from the school
gates, with a 20 minute walk to EGA followed by
a formal three-part warm up and team talk to
discuss tactics. This routine paid dividends with
the girls winning their first four matches. Our
Academy Year 7 Netball Team
Left-to-right: (back row) Alice Paulto, Lilly Mitchell,
Annissa Sangarapillai, Michealina Bannerman-Hull, Beth
Hagan-Coleman (front row) Chloe Sallaku, Kubra Arslan,
Nylah Rosario James, Elisa Hasani
Academy Player of the Tournament:
Beth Hagan – Coleman
The team has vowed to make amends in their
forthcoming tournaments and train extra hard on
Mondays at netball club after school and during
lunchtimes. Their aim is to become borough
netball champions next year.
The Year 8/9 combined netball team have
started their league matches. They are a strong
team, which will give them a fantastic chance of
reaching the top of the league and silverware this
Easter.
Match standings: Played 4, Lost 2, Won 2
Page | 9
CCF NEWS
ENGINEERING CAMP
SKILL-AT-ARMS CAMP
Engineering camp was one of the best
camps so far. Over the last term, we learnt some
amazing skills that we would never have learnt on
a normal day outside of the CCF. This camp was
our chance to put them into practice, whilst
being tested for our CCF Engineering syllabus
badge. Engineering brings everyone together, to
work as a strong team, to accomplish a goal that
we are all working towards. It helps us develop
better communication, so we know the
individual jobs that we need to complete to build
a strong structure, that will support itself and us.
At the Skill-at-Arms camp, we learnt
weapon handling and how to handle a rifle safely.
It took us two days to learn the drills: from
stripping the weapon down to cleaning and reassembling it, to how to correctly fit a sling and
firing drills. The most important thing is safety.
By Sunday morning we were able to attempt our
Weapon Handling Tests. If we did not pass first
time, we had an opportunity to re-try. We all
worked together in our block at night, revising
the drills.
We put into practice the training we had
completed in the sports hall at the Academy, but
now using full-size equipment in the countryside.
Using ropes as lashings for poles and using
pulleys to create a mechanical advantage, we built
two structures: firstly an A-Frame; then we joined
these together with ropes which we tensioned
using pulleys to create an aerial walkway. The
second structure was the principle part of a
catapult. The catapult would not work as we
lashed the pivot point, opposed to using a freely
moving pin, but the principle was there.
Year 9
Cadet U Rakici
Cadets in line at the Beret Presentation ceremony
10th March
In conclusion, engineering camp was an amazing
and exciting camp that showed us how to build A
-frames, bridges and catapults. Everyone enjoyed
what we were learning and I am sure it will be
something that everyone would enjoy
doing again. It helps us build our teamwork and
communication skills, which will benefit us in the
future.
Cadet M Kelly
Year 9
Sgt Sarah Adegboyega receiving the Ben Kinsella award
16th March
Page | 10
WORK EXPERIENCE
Work experience is a valuable way in which
young people can find out what work is like and
develop professional skills and attributes in
preparation for their future career. It means they
can spend time in a placement doing the real
work for a real employer in a real organisation.
PREVIOUS EMPLOYERS
Work experience will give the young person a
chance to:

Be treated like an adult

Work closely with adults

Behave in a safe and responsible way

Find out what they are good at

Collect evidence to show off their new
skills
Finding a work placement is not easy; all students
will need help from teachers and parents/carers.
They will need every support and
encouragement. Finding a placement within your
network is always good so please put the word
out there with your contacts.
YEAR 12
WORK EXPERIENCE DATES
10TH JULY – 21ST JULY
(2 WEEKS)
YEAR 10
WORK EXPERIENCE
FIRST WEEK OF NEXT
ACADEMIC YEAR
Page | 11
ART SPLASH!
Aysenur Pertev Senman
Henry Henderson,
Beth Hagan-Coleman
Fiona Osei-Karikari
Jeniyah Glace
Karen Ambele
Georgia McGrath
Doriana Kosiqi
Muharrem Kaya
Ela Dag
Helin Kirdag
Page | 12
Tu’Shian Johnson-Ballantyne
Berfin Tas
Yaren Topal
Victoria Domingos
Jamie Leigh Porter
Anita Kuzmanoski
Shania Veliz
Page | 13
TRIPS & EVENTS
DEBATE MATE
COMPETITION
Two teams of sharp-tongued, quick-witted
orators represented the academy in a national
debating competition.
On Friday 27th January, Ms King’s Year 10
history class attended the Holocaust Memorial
Service in Islington as we study the Holocaust as
part of our Germany unit in GCSE History. All
of us were moved by the strong characters that
stood before us and shared their stories of the
horrific pain caused by genocide, including
Muzna Al-Naib, a Syrian refugee, and Gena
Turgel, MBE, a survivor of the Holocaust. The
service was at the Islington Assembly Hall, and
several schools including ours had been invited
to listen, reflect and discuss the overall theme of
the event ‘How can life go on?’.
We were reminded by the Mayor of Islington,
Councillor Kat Fletcher, and by the Member of
Parliament for Islington North, Jeremy Corbyn,
who also attended, to remember those who have
died and ensure we work to create a world where
it can never happen again. We discussed how we
could move forward from such events; through
open discussion, education, compassion and
challenging hate. As we listened to Gena Turgel
sharing her story with us – which was a story of
“one survivor and 6 million who were not able to
tell their stories” including her family – the whole
ordeal seemed unimaginable to us. These
emotions continued whilst we listened to Muzna
Al-Naib who discussed the genocide currently
taking place and which made the theme of the
service How can life go on? even more poignant.
Many of us left the service discussing how lucky
we are and how easy it is to forget this.
Jessica Mosiango
Year 10
Eager members of the Academy junior debating
club battled it out against two other North
London secondary schools as part of the Debate
Mate Urban Debate League.
Students from Years 7 and 8 acquitted
themselves extremely well against some stern
competition at the event, held at the Deloitte
head office on Tuesday, January 24th.
The teams were unlucky not to pick up a win in
their debates, but were commended for the
quality of their arguments and their cooperation
and teamwork.
The teams were selected from those who have
performed well in our weekly Debate Mate club,
which is held every Friday from 4.30-5.30pm in
Room 107.
The other teams were St. Mary Magdalene
Academy and Highbury Grove, and the motions
were: “This house believes students should
choose their head teacher” and “This house
believes beauty contests should be banned”.
Mr Davis
English Teacher
BRITISH MUSEUM
On Tuesday 26th January, our GCSE
Ancient History class, with Ms King, Ms Green
and Mr Durak, visited the British Museum to
look at ancient historical sources. We looked at a
variety of artefacts from Ancient Egypt, Rome
and Greece with a particular interest in Alexander
the Great. We saw many coins, statues and
Page | 14
mosaics which served as imperial propaganda in
the reign of Alexander the Great. We used these
to help us to answer our controlled assessment
question, which was an investigation into the
reasons why Alexander the Great’s empire broke
up after his death. Within the museum, there
was an entire exhibition just about his reign,
which showed us how ‘great’ he really was and
how no one could replace him after his death,
which is why his empire broke up. This view is
supported by the historian Arrian who said, “a
man like Alexander who reached the peak of
human success, undisputed king of both
continents, whose name reached every corner of
the world.” In my opinion, the British Museum
had everything we were looking for to help us to
answer our controlled assessment question and
we enjoyed our visit.
Tyler Gale
Year 10
Speak Out coordinator (who some of the
students were affectionately calling “cupcake” by
the end of the session!). During the day, the
group worked together on a range of speaking
and listening activities designed to improve their
performance skills. Every single student
performed a speech of their own at the end of
the day. The workshop was a great success and
we English teachers are extremely proud of
everyone who took part; in fact, Elaine said that
her day at the Academy was one of the best
sessions she had this year!
Seven students who performed exceptionally well
in their speeches were chosen as our school
winners: they were Jessica Mosiango, Hannah
Kinloch, Alphy Karaderelli, Lydia Oyosa, Samuel
Johnston, Danielle Osei-Karikari, Antonio
Francis. After another round of performances,
Hannah and Sam were chosen to represent our
school at the Islington final.
This event, held at Mount Carmel, was a great
success. Sam and Hannah performed brilliantly,
really representing the wealth of talent we have at
the Academy. It was also fantastic to see so many
of our students there to support them. We are
definitely looking forward to another great Speak
Out Challenge next year!
Ms Lunt
Curriculum Leader for English
SPEAK OUT
CHALLENGE
Last term, the English department
celebrated the success of a talented group of Year
10 students who took part in the Jack Petchey
Speak Out Challenge, a prestigious public
speaking competition for teens. Twenty-five of
our Year 10s volunteered to be part of a wholeday speaking workshop with Elaine, our regional
Page | 15
TRIPS & EVENTS
POINTS OF VIEW
The word-wizardry of spellbinding speakers
captivated parents and teachers at a special Year
9 Points of View celebration event. Almost a dozen
talented wordsmiths presented high quality
speeches, rants, letters and poems at the event on
February 1st.
The top students in each Year 9 class were
selected based on the quality of their written
work and spoken performance, as part of a nonfiction topic on growing up in London.
Head of English, Ms Lunt, said: “I would like to
congratulate each student for being selected. This
is a testament to their fantastic effort and
commendable approach to their learning in
English. We saw some really lively creative
writing and excellent presentation skills this
evening, with the event providing a fantastic
showcase for the talent in our ranks at the
Academy.”
Eleven students presented their high-quality
work, including Timofei Suruzhiu, Akram
Hoque, Mohammed Sanyang, Hisham
Chowdhury, Luis Urbaez Lemos, Ela Dag, Tugce
Uzum, Shumila Jahan, Bradly Doko-Linaka,
Adam McKay and Nida Arslan.
A selection of work was also on display at the
after-school event, held in the Drama Studio.
The Year 9 Points of View topic, which was
completed in December, focused on giving
students freedom as well as choice in how to
express themselves creatively.
The project, now in its second year, allowed all
students the opportunity to discuss a range of
complex issues, conduct independent research,
vote on preferred issues, choose their own topic
and decide what form their writing should take,
such as speech, letter or opinion piece.
All Year 9 students wrote their final submissions
as an assessed piece and performed this in class,
providing excellent preparation for next year’s
speaking and listening GCSE assessment.
As part of the unit, students also participated in a
productive and enjoyable Q&A session with PC
Reynolds, the school police officer.
Mr Davis
English Teacher
ST. PAUL’S
CATHEDRAL
On Tuesday 14th March, Mr Jacob and Ms
Malkin accompanied nine Academy students to
St Paul’s Cathedral for the 2017 City Livery
Concert. The students enjoyed a performance by
the Choir of St Paul’s Cathedral followed by the
London Symphony Orchestra performing SaintSaëns Organ Symphony, accompanied by The Rt.
Hon. Lord Mayor, Alderman Dr Andrew
Parmley, on organ. It was a wonderful evening
and the students very much enjoyed the fantastic
music in a historic and impressive setting. We
would very much like to thank the Corporation
of London for their generosity in extending an
invitation to our students to attend the event.
HQ
On February 13th, a group of Year 7 girls,
Ms Punter and Ms Balci went to visit Google’s
headquarters at Kings Cross. Google is rated as
the best place to work in the world (Fortune
100). Moreover, it has been the best employer in
the world for a decade. The ‘perks’ for Google
employees are legendary: no set arrival time, free
food for all employees, free gym, free massage
whenever you want it… the list goes on.
Only females were invited to Google HQ. One
might ask why. Today, women hold only 27% of
all jobs in technology, which, ironically, is the
Page | 16
YEAR 7 ACHIEVEMENT
fastest growing employment sector. The number
is lower than it was a decade ago (30%). Even
among the younger generation of technology
companies, including Facebook, Google, and
Snapchat, fewer than 10 percent of all computer
programmers are women, according to industry
insiders. As a result, technology companies all
over the world are organising free coding courses
for girls and young women, offering extra
benefits for prospective females workers and so
on.
During the visit, girls got the chance to speak to a
panel of female Google and YouTube employees.
Only one of them was a coder. Others specialised
in areas you would not necessarily associate with
a technology company, for example, selecting
and supporting the best YouTubers. As it turned
out, when you get over a thousand followers
Google will invite you over to their Kings Cross
headquarters where you can film for free using
Google’s equipment, studios and help from
engineers. And yes, YouTube is owned by
Google. If you work for Google but really want
to be a rock star, there is a music room with all of
the latest music equipment. You can get tutored
by famous musicians and Google will promote
your band for free.
ASSEMBLY
On 25th March, the Academy hosted its
second Year 7 Achievement Assembly of the
year. Once again, it was a pleasure to award every
student with either a gold, silver or bronze medal
based on their attendance, progress and
achievement points this term. Ms Tanswell,
Assistant Principal, spoke about the importance
of looking back over the past year in order to
look forward. This was well received by both
parents and students.
During the assembly, four Year 7 students had
the opportunity to share their experience from
the term: Leo Keen on the curriculum, Elim
Kifle on trips, Ilham Abdalla on charity and
Cayden Dovies-Mozo on future aspirations.
After a slideshow presentation on the events of
the term, the Year 7 orchestra performed Largo
from Dvorak’s first symphony. It was fantastic to
once again celebrate the efforts and success of
the Year 7s and I look forward to even more
opportunities to do this in the future.
Mr D. Smith
Vice Principal
What else? The starting salary of a Googler is
£50,000 a year. Food is free all day unless, of
course, you don’t feel like going to the office and
prefer to work from home (that is perfectly okay
if you prefer). Needless to say getting a job at
Google is not easy; however, why not aspire
high?
Ms Panter
Computer Science Teacher
Aysenur Senman receiving the Glovers House Award
Page | 17
TRIPS & EVENTS
RED NOSE DAY
STEPHEN HAWKING
AWARD
On the 6th March 2016, with my fellow
Year 12 scientists, I attended the ceremony at the
Guildhall where Professor Stephen Hawking
received the Honorary Freedom Of the City of
London Award – the highest honour that the
City can bestow. The award was presented to him
for outstanding contributions to theoretical
physics.
On Friday 24th March a group of Sixth
Form students and myself committed to selling
320 Red Noses to the staff and students of the
Academy. The enthusiasm and encouragement of
the Sixth Formers on the school gate from 8 am
was a brilliant start; members of the public also
donated additional funds to help us raise as much
as we could. By the end of the day all 320 noses
had been sold and we raised a fantastic £328.44.
Thank you to everyone who helped make a
difference for all the young people supported by
Comic Relief.
Ms Woodman
Head of Sixth Form
It was truly amazing to hear his speech and be
present for such a prestigious event, as he
inspires the future generation of scientists. After
the event, we met him personally which was a
true honour. We were also given the opportunity
to speak to a range of university professors who
specialise in different subjects. This gave us a
great insight into current scientific research and
university life.
Overall it was a very rewarding experience and I
will not forget meeting someone of his expertise
and brilliance any time soon!
Lana-May Mills
Head Girl
Page | 18
THE READING CORNER
TEEN READ VOTE
FINALE
READING SUCCESS
20 students from Years 7 & 8 were invited
to go to Waterstones book shop on Thursday
26th January 2017 as a reward for excellent
reading in the Autumn term. Students were given
£10 to spend on a book of their choice. We
enjoyed seeing all the new books on display and
choosing just one wasn’t easy. Many decided to
choose a book by their favourite author or one of
the shortlisted titles from the Islington Teen
Read Vote 2017, which we have been promoting
in the library.
Shaub Mohamoud
Year 8
chose
Leo Keen
Year 7
chose
“It looks very interesting, with
lots of suspense and drama.”
“I like the genre and this book is
part of a trilogy.”
Aivy Ly
Aki Chen
Year 8
chose
Year 7, 8 and 9 students were given the
opportunity to participate in the Teen Read Vote
2017, organised by Islington Library & Heritage
Services. Students voted for their favourite titles
in both the longlist and the subsequent shortlist.
It was good to see the students’ interest in
participating in the voting process, and two
randomly selected students won £20 gift
vouchers for taking part. These went to Jaden
Mumbaya and Murat Cemmedo.
The book with the most votes was announced at
a special finale event at Waterstones (Islington
Green) on Tuesday 28th February and, as one of
the participating secondary schools in the
borough, we were invited to bring a small group
of students. The event was guested by the Mayor
of Islington, Kat Fletcher, and special guest and
author Clare Furniss, who has just been
longlisted for the 2017 Carnegie Medal. She read
from her book How Not to Disappear, gave tips for
budding authors and took questions from the
students, with a number of interesting ones
coming from our enthusiastic group.
Year 7
chose
The winner was One by Sarah Crossan, a book
about conjoined twins that has been popular with
our students.
“I’ve read it before but it’s such a
good book that I could read it
again and again without getting
bored with it.”
“I like Jaqueline Wilson and I
hadn’t read this book. I like
books about friendship.”
The event is on Twitter @islingtonlibs, where
Sarah Crossan has thanked Islington’s young
people for honouring her in this way.
Page | 19
HOMEWORK PROJECTS
In December, the Humanities Department
launched project homework tasks for Years 7, 8
and 9. The purpose of these projects has been to
provide our students with the opportunity to
consolidate and extend their learning, and
promote their curiosity about the topics they
have been studying. They also encourage
students to develop a broad range of skills
outside of the classroom; for example, in history
Year 9 students have written a diary of a World
War One soldier, requiring detailed research,
analysis, and communication skills, as well as
empathy. Year 7 students studying religious
education have explored the significance of
religious leaders across a range of religions, which
has enhanced their understanding of how
religions express themselves differently. These
activities have provided enjoyable and
meaningful learning opportunities, whilst
simultaneously deepening our students’
knowledge and understanding.
Judaism’s Key Figures (Religious Education)
Lily Mitchell & Shadanay McKoy, Year 7
Letters from
WW1
(History)
Nida Arslan,
Jessie Hebden,
Shumila Jahan,
Year 9
Some of the work completed has been of an
exceptionally high standard and we would like to
take the opportunity to recognise these students
and share some of their outstanding work with
you.
The Humanities Department
Civil War
Memoirs
(History)
Ilayda Guner,
Year 8
Pictorial Map of the UK (Geography)
Oksana Berzhansky, Year 7
Page | 20
GOVERNOR UPDATES
In my role as governor I have had the
privilege of attending the awards ceremony in
which HRH the Princess Royal was the chief
guest as well as the music concert in which the
Academy students took part in the Guildhall
School of music. Both these events were very
moving to me and it was an incredible experience
to see students perform and to win awards for
their achievements. The look on their faces – the
excitement and the happiness – was palpable. It
very much brought home to me again the reason
for being involved with the Academy. I would
like to congratulate all the students on the
excellent work, and the staff and the principal on
the incredible achievements that the Academy
has made.
Learning about optics in South Africa
In India, I went to Hyderabad, Kolkata and New
Delhi. There I visited student chapters and gave
technical lectures as well as talks on career
development to young students. I had the
opportunity to interact with students from
underprivileged backgrounds, some of whom
were coming from villagers with no electricity.
To see their excitement about science and their
passion to use science to improve lives of their
communities has inspired me. It also underlines
the fact that science education is vital in
improving the lives of young people as well as
the communities in which they live.
Teaching in India
In other activities, in education I have had the
privilege of going to South Africa, India and Italy
as an ambassador of the Optical Society of
America (OSA) to talk about optics to students. I
visited the University of Witwatersrand in
Johannesburg where I gave technical lectures to
PhD students on optics. The students had
formed an OSA chapter which performed
outreach the schools and with them I went to the
German school where we demonstrated optics
experiments. This experience was extremely
enjoyable and it was very inspiring to see young
people get interested in science and how
educators and scientists can participate in the
process.
Dr Arti Agrawal
Senior Lecturer at City, University of London
Page | 21
HEADS OF HOUSE HELLO!
DRAPERS
FLETCHERS
I have been very
impressed with Drapers
students this term, who I
have found to be focussed on
ensuring their success. I am
pleased with the way Drapers
students have worked
together at tutor time as well
as in lessons. It was great to
see them taking part in the City schools music
event at the Guildhall, as well as at the Cadet
Beret Parade.
It has been a very
busy and productive
term in the Flecthers
House. After being
crowned the overall
house champions for
the second time
running, the pressure
has been on to keep up
the high standards we place on ourselves to
succeed.
“Pulled together, draped in success”
“Stay sharp and hit the mark”
I am delighted to announce that Drapers won
Brainbusters – an inter-house competition – for
the second time. Well done to all the students
who took part, and to those students who
supported the event and cheered their peers on
to victory. Next term, our Year 11 and Year 10
students will be taking GCSE exams and our
Sixth Formers will be taking their A-level and
BTEC exams. Drapers students have been
working really hard to achieve their best and I
wish them every success.
Finally, I wish you all a restful Easter break, and
remember Drapers, be ready to “Pull together
and be draped in success”.
Ms Johal
There have been a number of highlights both
inside and outside of the classroom. A number of
Fletchers pupils have achieved brilliant grades
and our Year 11 pupils are completing some
encouraging work in revision and intervention
classes in a variety of subjects. This term has seen
Callum Girt, FO5, and Josh Gruby, FO1,
dominate the Academy table tennis league, John
Ellis Hall, FO3, continues to captain the Year 8
football team with distinction and Jordan Cole,
FO2, is the shining light in the successful Year 10
football team. In addition, the orchestra and
choir are very well attended by Fletchers, with a
number of pupils such as Deborah Matondo,
FO5, and Aksana Sangarapillai, FO4, impressing
Mr Byrt with their creativity and willingness to
learn. The House was also well represented in the
BrainBusters challenge, where we just came short
of victory, getting beaten by an impressive
Drapers team.
The next term promises to be as eventful and
successful as the previous and with hard work
and dedication, the Fletchers House will keep
going from strength to strength. Remember: Stay
sharp and hit the mark!
Mr A. Smith
Page | 22
GLOVERS
WEAVERS
On the 4th
February, the Prime
Warden of the
Worshipful Company
of Glovers, Jonathan
Crossman, visited the
Academy with his
clerk and met with a
group of Glovers
students to discuss their experiences and
successes, and to explain the charitable work of
the Glovers Livery Company. The students made
a fantastic impression on our guests, particularly
regarding the articulate and enthusiastic way in
which they described the opportunities for
academic and extra-curricular success afforded to
them at the Academy. I would like to thank Mr
Smith for coordinating the event, and the
following students for their excellent
contributions: Claude-Lesly Massu, Iris Dervishi,
Teddy Jones, Alaeze Asoluka, Imani MorrisonYusuf, Ilhan Ali and Alejandra RodriguezRamones.
I have become very
fond of my Weavers. This
is largely due to their
sense of adventure and
their sense of humour!
They make me laugh on a
daily basis as they tell me
tales from their day. It
was a joy to see the X
block Year 7s and Y block Year 8s win the interhouse competition for volleyball and football
respectively; it has been a pleasure to see
friendships develop based on trust and support.
“Dream, believe, achieve”
“Together everyone achieves more”
Congratulations to the following students for
acquiring the top house points in their tutor
groups this term: George Eccles (GR1), ClaudeLesly Massu (GR2), Ayushi Shah (GR3), Aysenur
Senman (GR4), Alaeze Asoluka (GR5) and Ehfaz
Tarafdar (GR6).
I would also like to thank the Glovers tutor team
and Theo Ayininuola for their continuing hard
work in supporting the Glovers students. Have a
wonderful Spring break.
I am proud of each and every one of them for
their efforts to be the best they can be. It is a
delight to see the students who come to school
each day ready to learn, and pass through the day
acquiring skills and knowledge – alongside
achievement points – but I am equally proud of
those students for whom school is a slightly more
complex experience. I am proud of their efforts
to adapt their behaviour and honesty, and I look
forward to supporting them as they aspire and
achieve.
Weavers students, please take the time over the
holiday to reflect on your achievements this term,
how you could strive for more and in anticipation
of what the future holds.
I wish you all a safe Spring break.
Mr Brasse
Ms McGurk
Page | 23
IMPORTANT DATES
Start of Summer Term
Tuesday 18th April
Year 7 Parents’ Evening
Thursday 11th May
Year 11 Photos
Friday 12th May
End of Summer Half-Term
Friday 26th May
Back to School
Monday 5th June
Year 6 Taster Day
Wednesday 21st June
Year 13 Leavers Party
Friday 30th June
Year 11 Prom
Friday 30th June
End-of-term Assembly
Friday 21st July
End of Summer Term
Friday 21st July