Message fromCheryl Day,Headteacher

This Clapton Review is a very exciting read! Iam always totally amazed at the incredibleevents our students are involved in, and theastounding range of activities on offer. Iceland

stands out as an amazing trip and is definitely a place I want to visitnow. I am also immensely proud of our sporting success. As an ex-PEteacher, it is fantastic to see so many students at Clapton Girls’Academy involved in physical activity of one kind or another. We arecertainly way above the national trend in that regard! Well donestudents and staff!

ReviewApril 2013

Breakfast Club –8am – 8.40am

The theme for the breakfast club this past term was to make daffodils. The girlswere supplied with templates and the resources and made some brilliantdisplays to take home for the Easter weekend; it was an enjoyable and creativeway to spend time in breakfast club.

World Book DayThe English Department organised 12 authors to come in to meet the Year 7& 8 forms to run workshops on the books they have been studying this halfterm. This was part of Pop-Up Booklinks, which is a brilliant project thatprovides classes with a copy of a book for each student to read and thenarranges a visit from the author.

Year 7Jasmine Skies by Sita BrahmachariPegasus and the Flame by Kate O’HearnTall Story by Candy GourlaySecret Breakers: The Power of Three by H.L. DennisSoldier Dog by Sam AngusCoping with Chloe by Rosalie Warren

Year 8At Yellow Lake by Jane McLoughlinCall Down Thunder by Daniel Finn15 Days Without a Head by Dave CousinsFar From Home by Na’ima B RobertsA Face Like Glass by Frances HardingeRowan the Strange by Julie Hearn

One of the authors, Rosalie Warren, wrote about her day at ClaptonGirls’ Academy:

I had a wonderful experience recently when I visited Clapton Girls’Academy in London to meet some of my readers and talk about mybook Coping with Chloe and the possible sequel.

The girls of 7C and their teacher Miss Feltham gave me a wonderfulwelcome and were so kind in the things they said about Coping withChloe. The girls asked me some very good questions, which I did mybest to answer.

But the best bit for me was when they showed me the work they haddone. Each girl had written a review and the teacher had bound thesetogether in a book with a beautiful cover, for me to take home. Thereviews inside were really well written and very good for my morale! Thebest thing in the world for an author is when you discover that someonehas not only enjoyed but ‘connected ‘ with your book – it has affectedthem and made them think. I was overwhelmed to read all of thesereviews and I will treasure the book always. One of the reviews waseven published in the Guardian.

I would like to thank Miss Feltham and the other members of staff atClapton Girls’ Academy – and especially the wonderful and brilliant girlsof 7C for working so hard and giving me such a lovely warm welcometo their class. They are all very intelligent, capable and enthusiastic andI am sure they will go a long way in life. Meeting your readers is a trulywonderful experience and I will never forget my visit to your school.

Very best wishes and good luck to all of you

Rosalie xx

Rosalie Warren on her visit to CGA

April Review 2013

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Barbican Box updateYear 9 and 10 Clapton drama participants developed their devised pieceof theatre by visiting the Wellcome Collection in February. The girls aredeveloping a piece, as part of the Barbican Box drama project, whichlooks at the development of neuroscience and the effect it has onsociety. The Wellcome Trust, Barbican/Guildhall Creative Learning andComplicite have worked in partnership to create the contents of thisyear’s ‘Barbican Box’, and the girls were invited to visit the WellcomeCollection and participate in a multi-disciplinary arts workshop. The girlsalso received a guided tour of the collection and were amazed by manyof the unusual artefacts and instruments which have helped developan understanding of how the brain works.

Macbeth at Trafalgar StudiosA2 drama students were lucky enough tosecure tickets to see the much acclaimedproduction of Macbeth starring JamesMcAvoy. Set in post-apocalyptic Scotland,the gruesome and bloody productionrealised a world where only the cunning andself-serving survive. This thought-provokingback-drop retained many of the traditionalElizabethan performance conditions:extended fight scenes, simple set, visceralspecial effects and performances that wererooted in the truth of the text. The girls areactually looking forward to writing about theproduction in their forthcoming exam!

Ms Nicol – Expressive Arts/Drama

Drama at CGA

Metamorphosis at the Lyric, HammersmithA-level drama students have been studying Steven Berkoff’s adaptationof Kafka’s Metamorphosis, as part of their Drama course. The storysees the unremarkable life of the Samsa family turned upside downwhen their son, Gregor, emerges one morning inexplicably transformedinto a beetle. The students were lucky enough to attend the celebratedIcelandic company’s – Vesturport – version of the play which literallyturned the set upside down (in order for us to further empathise withGregor)! This fast-paced and humorous production was an excellentexample of cutting-edge live theatre and the girls thoroughly enjoyedtheir trip.

Keep Calmand Ceili On

On Friday 22nd March over 120 parents, staff and friends of ClaptonGirls’ Academy (formerly CASP) joined together for an evening ofdinner, live band and Irish Celtic dancing (a Ceili). The evening was agreat success and a great fundraiser for the school.

This was a great way for parents, staff and friends to socialise for theevening and the dancing would have warmed everyone up! Well doneto all who took part and for those who organised this event. Look outfor future events organised by the Friends of Clapton Girls’ Academy,their support of the school is hugely appreciated.

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Attending a work experience day at GlaxoSmithKline on the 22nd of Februarygave us an insight into the development of the pharmaceutical industry. Ourday began with a tour around the research and development labs, where wewere able to see mice organs and tissues incubated in jars of liquid. We meta student currently completing a GSK apprenticeship and were given an insightin to the various career paths in the pharmaceutical world.

A lecture on the manufacture of drugs allowed us to understand the processof making successful drugs to sell on the market. We were also surprised tofind out that the average yearly profit made by GSK was a hefty 6.7 billionpounds. Along with viewing a production assembly line we were able to samplesome of GSK’s Lucozade.

We conducted an experiment on Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics thatinvolved the Bioanalysis of Ibuprofen. We had the opportunity to use equipmentworth half a million pounds such as a high pressure liquid chromatographerand a mass spectrometer. This further developed our analytical techniques andexperimental accuracy. In addition to this we met various inspirational scientiststhereby allowing us to understand more about this growing industry.

We would like to say a big thank you to Mr Delaney and Mr Daniel Waites forallowing us this opportunity and encourage any budding scientists to explorethe variety of career opportunities available in Science.

Asyma Raheel, Lakhwinder Kaur, Saima Malik – Year 13

SciencesUniversity challenge

On 11th February 25 CGA students attended the SciencesUniversity challenge day at UCL campus. First there was a tour of thesurprisingly large campus in Euston, with university ambassadorsanswering student questions about University life.

After the tour, working teams were made and attended a tastersession in either Biological Sciences, Applied Maths, Brain Sciencesor Chemistry. The main challenge was then set; students were tocomplete tasks in their related Science and compile a report abouttheir results. The judgement would be made by a mix of universitylecturers and students. Our students were complimented for beingeloquent and confident in their speech. Additionally we sportedwinners in every category of presentation. A well spent day showingthat our students are already developing to a University standard ofskills.

Ms Gay – Head of Science

Maths at CGAOn 7th February the Intermediate Hackney Maths Challenge took place,it is a countrywide challenge for the more able and talented studentsfrom years 9 to 11. It took place after school for one hour.

The following 3 students received certificates10T Lizzie Diggins Gold11P Yasmin Pilbro Silver9A Emily Armes Bronze

The junior Hackney maths challenge takes place April 25th for years7 and 8.

Ms Bains – Head of Maths

On 17th March at 10:30am, I and 29 other nominated training vocalists startedto warm up for our long, dynamic and inspiring day at the Royal Academy ofMusic. Split into groups, we took part in three workshops, each designed togive us an insight into a different genre. My personal favourite was the Jazzworkshop with Laka D where we were taught close harmonies to develop anunaccompanied cover of ‘Straighten up and fly right’. In the afternoon we hadour masterclass, a 15 minute one-to-one with a tutor, in which we sang a songof our choice and given feedback. I sang ‘Maybe this time’ from Cabaret andwas critiqued on my performance as well as my vocal technique. I found itinteresting to watch the masterclass of other students my age who sing suchdifferent styles. Although it was nerve-racking and challenging I found theexperience to be a positive one, I learnt a lot about what studying music wouldentail, practiced a lot of new techniques and really enjoyed myself

Lillian Servante – 13Y

(Lillian was one of only two students who were chosen from Hackney)

Science at CGAWork Experience Day

Music at CGAVocal Workout Day at the

Royal Academy

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Iceland. It’s a nice landIn April 2012, a competition was held by the Geographical Association and Discover the World toaward a school, whose department is taking steps to change the views of students, a £2,000 grantfor a trip to Iceland. Having entered the competition, Mr Cologne was surprised and excited to findout Clapton Girls’ Academy had won!

On Sunday 17th February 2013, 27 Year 9 and 10 girls and 4 members of CGA staff gathered atLinscott Road to start their journey of a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Outside Seljalandsfoss

Day 1After landing safe and sound, it was straight off to the Blue Lagoon to dip in theGeothermal heated waters and slather sulphur rich face scrub to beautifyfaces. It was then off to the Hotel Cabin to eat and settle in for the night.

Day 2Pupils and staff were up early for a brief drive to our first waterfall of the trip,Seljalandsfoss, where pupils were able to also walk behind the waterfall toobserve the plunge pool and overhang. It was then quickly off to theSolheimajokull glacier where pupils donned crampons to walk across theglacier to observe crevasses and moraines. After a quick visit to the south coastto observe the door hill islands it was time for settling in for the night.

Day 3The morning started with a walk along the black sand beaches (see the TakeThat Patience video) followed by another waterfall, Skogafoss. Then came thewalk up the 80m Stori-Dimon Volcano where all pupils (eventually) made it tothe top for some impressive views over the wash plains. A quick visit to theEarthquake simulator to experience a 6.6 on the Richter scale and then wewere back in Reykjavik for food and sleep.

Day 4Day 4 involved the most stunning views in Iceland as Clapton Girls’ studentstook on the Golden Circle tour that many visitors to Iceland do. This involvedvisiting a crater lake, Europe’s version of Niagara Falls Gulfoss and thespouting geyser who is also a fan of Harry Styles! The final stop was to theNational Heritage site of Thingvellir where Iceland’s parliament wasestablished in 930AD and the rift valley between the North American andEurasian plates.

Day 5Our final day involved a quick sightseeing tour of Reykjavik to take in the majorsights and view the most Northern capital city from the Perlan observationdecks. A quick stop for souvenir shopping and then we travelled to the boilingmudpools and Lucky Bridge that crosses the two continents at the ReykjanesPeninsula.

This was a truly fantastic trip that was over all too quickly. After 10 months ofplanning, the activities made it feel like there was hardly any time to breathe.Iceland is a spectacular country and a Geography teachers’ heaven. Hopefullysee you again sometime soon!

Mr Cologne, Head of Geography

The girls are told the volcano could eruptany day...or the next 200 years!

Standing between the two continents of Europe and North America

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Looking at our journey on the scale map of Iceland.

Thingvellir and the Oxararfoss waterfall

Watching the Geyser

Morning stroll on the Black sand beaches

During the February half term I went to Iceland and did many activities.For example; climbing up a waterfall and walking behind one too, feedinghorses, swimming in the blue lagoon, walking on a glacier, going on manybeaches and much, much more. My favourite activity was walking up thevolcano! This was my favourite because we all found it really hard but weall made it to the top! I also liked it because we were all encouraging eachother and we all had a hard time getting up there but we shared a lot oflaughing and moments resting together. Once we got to the top you hadthe feeling when you have achieved something great and when you sawthe view you knew it was worth climbing the tall volcano! When everyonegot to the top we had a sing song. I loved that the most because we all feltlike we had achieved something.

Esther Korner – 9P

The first few steps out of Keflavik airport were unforgettable. Being able tolook in one direction and see an amazing mountain range, then in anotherdirection a volcano, and then large, barren fields behind you; unforgettable.Over the course of 4/5 days, we did at least 20 different things, fromlooking around a geothermal power station, to being shaken on anearthquake simulator. The walk on the tongue of the Solheimajokull (S14)glacier was amazing. Then there was Skogafoss, a 60m high waterfall, witha wide, thundering curtain of freezing cold water, which drenches you atthe bottom, and amazes you at the top. Next was the Stori-Dimon volcano,which rises up approximately 80m sitting above the flat sandur outwashplain. After having reached the top, the view was worth the pain in ourcalves; the sea in front and the snow topped mountain behind. Finally, notforgetting, what we referred to as “EPIC DAY” where we saw things whichpractically explain Iceland and its geographical wonder; amazing waterfallswith mile long gorges and salmon steps, a dramatic volcanic crater lake, hotgeysers that throw gallons of water 30 metres in the air, and Thingvellir; aNational Park that not only has an interesting history, but is also scouredby the Mid-Atlantic ridge and rift valleys where the Eurasian and NorthAmerican plates meet. Overall, the only thing that could have made the tripeven more perfect would have been to see the Northern Lights. However,as I see it, it’s only an excuse to go again next year!

Beatrix Webb – 10N

Gulfoss

The girls posing at Gulfoss

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Skiing in AustriaOn Saturday 15th February, 39 students and staff left for our annualskiing trip to spend half term on the slopes of the Austrian Alps. Allthe girls and staff had a fantastic time and came back to the UK withnot only great memories but also with either new or improved skiingabilities!

Sport at CGAWe are very proud of the girls and staff here at CGA who together make surethat all girls at the school have the opportunity to partake in a variety of sportsand sporting events. The media has recently stated that girls are not asinvolved in sport as they should be... they should come to CGA! According tothe Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation, just 12% of 14-year-old girls dothe recommended amount of physical activity of any kind.

Right now, it is still a challenge to get girls moving in this country, but here atCGA the girls are all encouraged to participate and with the support of thestaff, and the school as a whole, continue to do very well indeed. Well done tothem all.

Group photo!

On the slopes

Ready to hit the slopes!

Twelve girls from years 7 to 10 competed in the Hackney Schools Annual SwimGala. Overall we brought home 28 gold medals, 3 silver and 1 bronze. Everysingle student won a medal in the event they competed in.

The overall result was Clapton Girls’ Academy winning by 35 points and theyare now crowned Hackney Swimming Champions for 2013!

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The achievements for this academic yearare very impressive and the girls should bevery proud of what coming to CGA hasenabled them to attain:

September 2012

8 Student Sports Ambassadors at theAcademy

2 Students running clubs as ‘DanceTeacher Assistants’

October 2012

Student Molly Bennett Won Yr 7 BoroughCross Country

Student Loula Paizi Won Yr 8 BoroughCross Country

Student Ruby Christian-Muldoon 2nd Yr 8place Borough Cross Country

October-December 2012

U14 Girls Basketball Borough Winners

December 2012

U15 Girls Basketball Team beat BarkingAbbey Basketball Academy (NationalSchool Games)

January 2013

Yr 8 Girls Basketball Borough Winners

February 2013

6 Students took part in the ‘Sky SportsLiving for Sport’ project with UK IndoorLong Jump Champion JJ Jegede

Clapton offer GCSE Dance as an optionsubject for year 10 & 11 Students

13 students gained England Basketballlevel 1 Referee qualifications

13 students gained England Basketballlevel 1 Table Officiating qualifications

39 students participate in a Skiing trip toAustria

March 2013

6 students gained England Netball YouthUmpire Award

U14 Girls Basketball London SchoolGames Runner ups 3rd place

4 Students selected to Table officiate theLondon School Games Basketball Finals

U15 Girls Volleyball London SchoolGames Runner ups 3rd place

Borough Swimming Gala Champions

Netball Borough Champions Yr 7Tournament

Trampolining Borough Champions

Ongoing events:

Current Yr 7 Girls Basketball BoroughChampions

Current Yr 7 Netball Borough Champions

75 Students doing Level 1 Sports LeadersAwards

6 students doing Level 2 CommunitySports Leaders Award

25 students doing BTEC First Certificate

10 Students doing ‘Pass on your PassionEngland Netball’

Year 7 win the netball tournament at Haggerston. The Year 7 team remain unbeaten this year!

Rehearsals are underway for the 2013 Dance showcase with performances from GCSE and A leveldance groups. CGA have 2 performance pieces.

Below: London School Games CGA Basketball team win Bronze.

Clubs and activities –Extra Curricular

Clubs and activities at CGA are designed to extend, enhance andsupport the curriculum. The list ranges from the daily breakfast andhomework club, to basketball, film, fitness, football, radio & remix,knitting, boxing, rowing, jewellery, choir, debate, tennis, athletics, publicspeaking, sewing, orchestra, street dance, athletics, swimming, foodtechnology, History film club, steel pans, trampolining, recordingtechnique, Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, Turkish... to name but a few! Thisshows the huge range of opportunities on offer for the girls at CGA.

Ideas, suggestions or requests for activities from students and theirparents/carers are always welcome.

Governors’ CornerGovernors are required to do regular visits with the school to take acloser look at areas for development, or areas we just need moreinformation about. I recently did a link visit with Ms Feltham, who isbehaviour lead for Clapton Girls’ Academy, to look at all the newstrategies that have been put in place around pupils’ behaviour this year.

I was impressed with Ms Feltham and her colleagues’ dedication andfocussed approach, and was encouraged to hear that, both anecdotallyand according to data gathered so far this year, behaviour continues tobe outstanding.

One particular area of focus for staff and governors at the moment iskeeping interruption to lessons to an absolute minimum. All teachersrecognise the importance of a smooth start and calm finish to lessons.

To support this there are now displays in the classrooms to show pupilsexactly what they need to have ready for the start of each lesson.

Pupils are also dismissed from class using a traffic light system - onlythose pupils waiting quietly get the ‘green light’ to go.

It was encouraging to hear that these simple strategies are working well,and the number of times senior staff are called out to deal with low-leveldisruption in class, already very low, has dropped further.

Martine Gallie, Parent Governor

April Review 2013

www.clapton.hackney.sch.uk

TERM DATESMonday 15th April to Wednesday 24th July

May Bank Holiday: Monday 6th May – School Closed

Half-term: Monday 27th May to Friday 31st May

Summer holidayThursday 25th July to Tuesday 3rd September

Visit the website to seemore calendar events

Reminder to Parents/CarersIt has come to our attention that some of the girls are now adorning theirblazers with more and more badges. Please bear in mind that only authorisedschool badges may be worn on school blazers. Students will be asked toremove any unauthorised badges.

Exam Timetables 2013The exam timetables for girls in Year’s 7, 8 & 9 and for those doingGCSE and A levels are now on the school website.

SAM Learning is a revision website: www.samlearning which CGAsubscribes to with exam practice, revision tools and online homeworktasks.

Every girl has her own login details as printed below. If your daughterhas problems logging on she should speak to Mr Bradbury, the school’sexamination officer.

Centre ID: E5CG

User ID and Password: (both the same): for girls this is their date ofbirth and initials. So for a student born on the 30th July 1992 calledKatie Smith their User ID and password would be 300792KS.

Comic Relief/Red Nose Day

at CGAThe girls were all very excited to be able to wear their own clotheson Friday 15th March. This was because CGA was supporting ComicRelief, or as it is more commonly known, Red Nose Day. The girlspaid a £1 donation each for the privilege. The school also had a cakesale, which was very popular. The Academy is delighted that acheque will be sent to the Comic Relief Charity for £1,689.29. .Someof the teaching and non-teaching staff also joined in with oneperson wearing a complete outfit of red! Comic Relief celebrated its25th anniversary in 2013 and we were proud to play a small part inthis event, especially as they also broke all previous records andthe latest figure indicates an amazing £75,107,851 has beenraised...so far, with over £800,000,000 being raised since it started.