Drapers’ Academy Newsletter Autumn Term 2013

Diary Dates

19th December

Christmas Carol

Concert

20th December

End of Term

6th January

Spring Term

Begins

30th January

Sixth Form

Open Evening

4th February

Citizenship Day

17th February

Half Term

Academy Life

Message from the Principal, Mr Slater

www.drapersacademy.com

For the latest news or

info follow:

@DrapersAcademy

Harold Hill Festival 2014

The Academy has once again shown its

commitment to the local community by sponsoring

the Harold Hill Festival for the third year running.

The Chair of the Festival Julie Pocock and the

well known “Harry the Squirrel” recently visited the

school to gratefully accept the cheque. The money

donated is essential to the running of the festival which last year attracted over

6,000 visitors. The Academy is proud to sponsor the Harold Hill Festival and we

are looking forward to seeing the success the event brings in 2014.

In our modern times and changing society, is Christmas

still valid?

My answer to that question is yes.

I do not like the over commercialisation of the festival, I do not

like the Christmas decorations being put up in November, I do

not like the constant advertising and pressure for families to

spend too much money. They are my pet hates. Does that make me a modern

day Scrooge? Ba Humbug say I.

For me Christmas is about family. It is a time to be together, to talk, to laugh and

to reminisce about times gone by.

I’m sure you can all remember that one very special Christmas celebration, one

that stands out in your mind. For me it is all about our children.

So enjoy your Christmas if you have plenty or if you have little. Enjoy your time

together; make the most of the festive season.

Wishing you all a happy and peaceful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Geography Field Trip

Year 10 pupils recently returned safely from their GCSE Geography field trip.

The pupils visited Walton Beach in Flatford Mills, Suffolk which was part of their

controlled GCSE assessment. Despite the cold weather

pupils completed their research question which was based

around natural environments. Pupils enjoyed the three day

visit and were exposed to new surroundings where they

gained a real interest about the British countryside.

www.drapersacademy.com

Jack Petchey Awards Evening

Pupils and students who had received Jack Petchey Awards in the last academic year were

invited to Queens Theatre in Hornchurch on the 21st November to

attend the Havering Awards Evening.

It was a fun and vibrant evening where our pupils and their families

could celebrate the winner’s hard work and achievements. The

pupils also met Councillor Eric Munday to receive their medallions

and be congratulated on behalf of Jack Petchey. We are very proud

of our pupils and look forward to next year’s event.

BBC Children In Need

Several fundraising activities were recently held for Children in Need.

At the beginning of the week there was a penalty shoot out against goalkeeper Mr

Ruggles, where pupils attempted to score three goals. There was a Children in Need

cake sale at break and lunch time, which proved very popular and also there was a

competition where pupils attempted to guess the member of staff from their baby

photos.

Thursday and Friday brought the main events of the week with a ‘I’m a Teacher Get

Me Out of Here’ show where 8 members of staff went through a gruelling 10 rounds of

‘bush tucker trials’ which included eating snails, pig intestines and burying their arms

and hands into a bowl of maggots.

Friday’s event was a Year 7 and 8 disco which was very well attended. Pupils enjoyed

the evening and raised more money for the charity.

After all the events the money was counted and we are pleased to announce we have

raised £587.08 which is a fantastic effort. Thank you to all who donated.

www.drapersacademy.com

House System Launched

Awards Evening 2013

On the last day before the pupils broke up for half term we launched our House System

which has already become an integral part of life at the school. The House System aims to

provide a sense of competition whilst being at the forefront of the history and tradition

currently taking shape.

The house names are;

Einstein, Da Vinci, Franklin and Fermat.

Pupils, students and staff have all been assigned to a house with siblings being allocated to

the same house. The competition has already been fiercely contested with Einstein currently

leading the standings with 1096 points.

On Tuesday 26th November the Academy celebrated the last academic years’ success with

the annual Awards Evening.

We were honoured to be joined by the Master Draper, Admiral the Lord Boyce, who

congratulated each award winner throughout the evening and also gave an inspirational

address at the end. Selected pupils and students were presented with a subject award

which was nominated by each faculty and attainment and commitment awards were also

presented to pupils from each year group.

Every year there are two main prizes that are awarded to two pupils or students who have

excelled throughout their life at the Academy. The Drapers’ Medal, which is kindly donated

by The Drapers’ Company each year was awarded to Year 12 student Keisha David, who

with an attendance of 99.7% last year received fantastic GCSE results which included an

A* in maths. The second main award, The Ross Cup, was presented to the Academy by

Rear Admiral Alistair Ross on his retirement as the Clerk of The Drapers’ Company. The

cup is intended to be awarded to an individual who has contributed positively to the

Academy, regardless of the obstacles in their way. Year 13 student Katie Alexander

received the award to a standing ovation.

The evening was a fantastic event and highlighted the excellent work of our pupils and

students.

Drapers’ Academy

Settle Road

Harold Hill

RM3 9XR

www.drapersacademy.com

Year 7 Football

Sports Clubs

For all sports clubs

information, please visit

www.drapersacademy.com

The Year 7 football team recently played in their third match of the season against a strong Marshalls Park side. In the previous fixture between these two sides, it was Marshalls Park who came away with the win, however the Year 7’s clearly learnt from their defeat and came away with a 3-1 victory, which was their first win of the season. The team went ahead in the first two minutes with a goal by Timi Tinubu. Marshalls Park clearly didn’t expect a strong start, and settled soon after and got a goal back themselves to make the score 1-1 at half time. Drapers’ came out the better team after the break and this was shown by another early goal in the second half. After some brilliant defending they then went on to increase the lead with a well set up counter attack. This was a great team performance from the Year 7’s and they are now looking forward their next fixture.

Year 9 Girl’s Badminton

The Year 9 girl’s badminton team

consisting Paige Frank, Lauren Hayllar,

Justina Ridikaite and Goda Vainauskaite

have improved on their recent success.

They competed in another group stage

fixture in the Havering Schools Badminton

Tournament where they finished in 1st

place. The team competed against Abbs

Cross and Bower Park in both single and

doubles matches. Since their previous

fixture the progress the girls have shown

has been remarkable and hopes are high

going into the next event. We wish the

team the best of

luck going into

their next

competition.

Golf Lesson

Pupils in Year 8 recently got the chance to

try out Golf in their PE Lesson which was

taught by a specialist external instructor.

They were given the chance to practice

their swing in the indoor sports hall, as

they aimed at a target board similar to a

dart board.

The opportunity was arranged by the PE

Faculty and was enjoyed by all the pupils.

To read the latest

news on our PE

Faculty please visit

our website and go

to the ‘Sports

News’ section.