Dear Families, Friends, Students and Staff.
Last week's half term break provided just enough of a pause to set us all up for the last few weeks of this academic year. It's really quite incredible how the days fly by. There are now just four weeks left to the end of term - and we still have so much to look forward to!
As you can see from the dates for your diary below, there's something for everyone as we head towards the last day. Before then we have exams, both public and internal, to get through. I know our Functional Skills, GCSE, 'A' Level and BTEC students are ticking them off in a most determined and mature way and modelling for our younger students how to tackle the whole exam season.
Today we were treated to an informative hustings type assembly from students wishing to apply for various prefect roles, heads of house and head student roles. We will announce the successful candidates next week.
Enjoy the weekend - revise, relax, rest.
Mrs Rich – Head.
Upcoming dates for your diary.
Thursday 13th - Friday 14th June - Duke of Edinburgh overnight expedition for Y10 students.
Thursday 20th June - Y11 and Y13 Leavers Dinner.
Friday 21st June - NCS Life Skills, part II, at Canbury for Y11, 12, 13.
Wednesday 26th June - Canbury Garden Party 5.30pm to 8.00pm. All welcome.
Monday 1st July - School Talent Show, in school in the morning.
Monday 1st July - Sports Day, 12 - 3pm, Kingsmeadow. All welcome.
Wednesday 3rd July - Whole School Activity Day - Choice of Thorpe Park or Richmond Park.
Friday 5th July - Prize Giving & break up for the summer holiday - 12 noon.
Students of the week.
Year 7
Excellent discussion from Layla and Josef in PSHE this week.
Year 8
Well done goes to Lee, Mason and Rosie for focus and contributions during the wellbeing lesson.
A massive well done to Carl for his thoughtful explanations in PSHE this week - brilliant!
Year 9
Bethany and Sophie for producing an absolutely fantastic poster for revising Biology. See below.
Alfie for focused work in Science.
Year 10
Brilliant work from Katie on her leaflet in English - well done!
Excellent work from Judah on his English Literature revision.
Excellent half term test results in Business studies for Josh, Matt and Hugo - all within two marks of each other and all well above their target grades.
Well done to Reenie for scoring 100% in the latest Science test. Way to go Reenie.
Canbury Champions.
On Thursday we took a team to the annual borough athletics competition at Kingsmeadow, writes Mr Barnes. It is one of the highlights of the sporting calendar, with Canbury students competing against all other schools in the borough. Despite having to compete against much larger schools, there were superb performances on the day from our athletes. Alfie started the morning strongly by throwing a session’s best of 8.34m in the shot put, and securing 5th place against competitors who were in the year above. Nico and Matt battled well in the 800m and long jump respectively. Hugo ran a dramatic 800m and, thanks to a perfectly timed sprint finish, managed to sneak 4th place by 100th of second. Morgan performed when it mattered with a throw of 23.70m in the javelin, which also secured 4th place for Canbury. Performance of the day though belonged to Lloyd, who added to his borough athletics medal haul from previous years, when he won a silver in the long jump by jumping 4.92m. Lloyd also managed to get 4th place in the 200m, despite having to run in lane 8.
Well done to everyone who competed, it’s always such a pleasure to see our students competing, and succeeding, in the face of such tough opposition.
Small - but doing big and amazing things - that's us and the Kingston Bereavement Support charity.
Yesterday Year 10 students Reenie, Ethan and Josh visited Kingston Bereavement Support - the charity we raised money for at this year's sponsored walk. Staff Helen and Christina provided a warm welcome and gave us a whistle stop tour of the centre. They asked us to thank each and every one of the Canbury community, and our extended friends and families, who dug deep to support this amazing small charity which is doing wonders working with children who have faced the death of a parent.
The link to the donations page is live until 24th June so if you haven't yet donated but want to, there's still time. So far the total stands at an amazing £2,750.00. It's our biggest fundraising total ever and one we are very proud of. Thank you to everyone. Depending on how you are reading this Newsletter, you will be able to read the thank you letter we have received from the charity at the top of the page.
Banksy in Brighton - it doesn't get much better than that.
Year 10 Art and Photography students went on an educational visit to Brighton to enhance their portfolios, writes Mr Brinkmanis. They are currently working on two different projects ‘The Seaside’ and ‘Architecture'. It was lovely to see all students enjoying themselves despite the drizzle whilst taking a lot of photographs for their coursework.
We were inspired by Martin Parr who captures the daily life of people in his photos. The beach was a good place to start and we then walked along all the way to the pier. By the time we had taken our first of many shots we couldn’t say no to some chips on the pier. Luckily the seagulls didn’t manage to interrupt our lunch.
Tummies full, we headed to the Royal Pavilion and the lanes which were full of colourful and interesting quirky corners. We also had a glimpse of Banksy’s artwork which we found in one of the little side streets - thanks to Mr Temple for spotting it.
Overall it was a great day full of creativity and with a lot of walking - all students were on their best behaviour. Year 10s you did Canbury proud once again and as the saying goes ‘do not fear mistakes - there are none’ - excellent work from all of you. Also a big thank you to Mr Temple and Mrs Strawbridge for driving and supporting us on the trip.
Canbury students - you never know where you'll find them!
As you know, here at Canbury we love to celebrate our students and their many achievements, both in and outside of the classroom. So it's a drum roll please, for Sixth Former Flora and Year 10 student Katie, who have been quietly getting on with being brilliant away from school.
First up is Flora, who received the following feedback from the stables where she takes part in work experience every Monday.
“She has proved herself to be a real asset and an invaluable member of the team. Flora takes pride in her work and she takes her responsibilities seriously, always performing the tasks she has been asked to do around the stable yard to the best of her ability. Flora takes excellent care of the horses, she is hardworking, reliable and has an excellent attitude and work ethic. It has been an absolute joy to have her around.”
Wow Flora, that should go on your CV - who wouldn't want to employ you?! Very very well done.
Next up is Canbury thespian Katie, who has some amazing news to share. She is pictured here clutching her London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) certificate in recognition of passing, with distinction, her Grade 3 solo acting exam. It was back in April that Katie travelled to LAMDA to take the exam, which she had been working towards since the beginning of 2024. Katie attends a weekend Stagecoach School, which this term saw her cast as the lead in ‘Joseph and the amazing technicolour dream coat’.
Her mum says she has been busy diligently learning her lines and rehearsing at home, so clearly that LAMDA work has come in handy. Well done Katie - we want front row seats when you hit the West End!
Duke of Edinburgh Award - get packing!
Mr McGregor is busy checking the weather and making sure his walking boots still fit him and are comfortable. Our Year 10 Duke of Expeditioners may wish to do the same this weekend, as they are off trekking overnight next Thursday 13th June. Do contact Mr McGregor before then if you have any questions. We can't wait to see the photos!
Brilliant Biology from Sophie and Bethany.
If you need advice....
As we approach the summer holidays - we wanted to direct you to Kooth which offers free, safe and anonymous support for young people. Parent FAQs about the service can be found here