News

Loxford in the month of November

LOXFORD IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER

Within the month of November, our students took part in the following activities:-

• Our Child Friendly Redbridge Ambassador was invited to attend and be part of the Council’s Scrutiny Panel on Tuesday 29^th and Wednesday 30^th November from 5.00pm-9.00pm at the Council Chamber at the Town Hall, Ilford. 
• A speaker from the law firm Mishcon de Reya came and gave a talk to Year 12 Law students on both legal and business operations and apprenticeships.  The talk was delivered by ex-student Karolina Tomaite, who is now a solicitor apprentice
• The Year 13 Economist students had a Bank of England speaker in.  This was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the role of the bank in preparation for their upcoming trip!  It was also interesting to learn of the many apprenticeship opportunities within the bank as well as other exciting activities.  The students really enjoyed it!
• Our Year 12 Economic students watched a webinar by Tim Harford (Financial Times’ Undercover Economist writer).  Tim talked the students through the current financial crisis and how to focus on breaking down on-going issues while cutting through the jargon and frenzy of mixed media messages
• We also had another drop in from Bewise and it was one of the most successful in terms of attendance of students and interest
• The Art Department arranged for workshops for the Year 11 Gifted & Talented students to experience some new skills.  The aspects they covered were Oil Painting (Art), False Perspective (Photography) and Punch Needle (Textiles)
• Rida Malik was the local winner of the “Find Your Balance” art and written competition supported by Google.  Rida will be attending a celebratory event at the Houses of Parliament on 23^rd November accompanied by her Parent. 

Her work will be showcased at the Houses of Parliament in London and Rida’s art piece will also be entered into the next and final stage of the competition when four National winners will be announced.  As a school, we wish Rida every success! 

• Shara Molla’s, art work for the “Switch Off” competition has been entered and we hope she will be selected as a winner
• On Sunday 13^th November, Elena Rotaru, Year 10, made Loxford proud by being part of the Lord Mayor’s Parade representing the Anti-Bullying Ambassadors of Loxford and The Diana Award organisation.  According to Elena, it was an amazing experience and will remain with her for a long time
• Our Sixth Form Subject Fayre for Year 11 was held and students came and spoke to teachers about the different A-Level and BTEC courses on offer.  Students discussed the reasons for studying the subject and where it may take them in the future 
• We started our Anti-Bullying Ambassador Help Desk.  The Ambassadors man the desk from 1.35-1.45pm daily in Students’ Reception and students can ask any questions about bullying or if somebody is being unkind to them
• Our Year 7 and 9s spoke to conservation experts from the Charity “Born Free” on Zoom:

Year 7 -Students will explore the real story of Pole Pole the elephant (Swahili for ‘Slowly’), and discuss whether she should be sent to live at the zoo or remain with/return to her family in the wild.  Children worked in groups as different stakeholders (a UK zoo, an African government and Pole Pole), and shared their thoughts and opinions, before voting as a class as to whether to send Pole Pole to the zoo.  Pupils were then told the real story of Pole Pole.  This workshop was a great way to start discussions around the ethics of holding wild animals in captivity

Year 9 -Students took an in-depth look at four key threats facing wildlife around the globe: habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, the illegal wildlife trade and trophy hunting.  Classes found out what organisations like Born Free are doing to help halt species decline, and how they too can take action to help wild species

• 12 Year 8 girls participated in this year’s National Cybersecurity competition. The girls assembled their squad of up to four girls per group.  We had Pythonics, Froggies and Anacondaz battling their way through the challenges of cryptography, logic and coding to obtain points against a thousand other Year 8 girls around England and Ireland.  Our top scorers were Anacondaz with over 1500 points and Froggies with 1600 for the online qualifier round competing against schools around the nation.  The computing team are proud of their students’ eagerness and determination.
• All students watched a presentation for Redbridge Food Bank to launch the initiative which encouraged students to donate to the collection
• Students in Year 8, 9, 10 & 12 attending an “Employability Skills” Workshop and they listened to topics which focused on option choices leading to GCSEs, BTEC, A Levels and Apprenticeships
• Guardian journalist, Sam Wollaston, visited the school to hold interviews with our Media Sixth Form students
• The Art Department arranged some Workshops for the Gifted & Talented students in Year 10 in order to experience some new skills, which they would not normally learn as part of their GCSE course.  The aspects were Art students – Punch Needle Workshop, Photography students – Stop Motion Workshop and Textiles students – Garment Construction Workshop
• A speaker from the animal welfare organisation “Born Free” came in for a workshop and gave thought provoking and interactive sessions.  The students gained a deeper understanding of the topics discussed and the threats facing wildlife and sustainability

We visited the following places:-

• Our Year 11 Geography students went on a trip to the London Olympic Park and Hackney Wick to collect information for their GCSE exam
• On Thursday 3^rd November, 10 students from Year 8, 9 and 11 were chosen to go and see the Birmingham Royal Ballet performance “Into the Music” at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in Angel, London.  The performance consisted of three separate ballet performances that matched the music performed by a huge orchestra and had different intentions.  These performances and famous choreographers were ‘Forgotten Land’ by Jiří Kylián, ‘Hotel’ by Morgann Runacre-Temple and ‘The Seventh Symphony’ by Uwe Scholz.  The students were able to experience watching world class dancers perform these pieces and recognised many skills and choreographic devices that were used, linking to our studies in school.  The students were impeccably behaved and thoroughly enjoyed each piece.  They were so well behaved that a member of the public came over to express how great it was that they were so polite and well behaved and that it was great that they got to see a performance of this standard.  In particular, the use of the dancers' bodies matching the music and the strength and flexibility of the dancers fascinated the crowd.  The students enjoyed the theatrical elements of costume, set and lighting to match and tried to guess what each dance was about.  The students gave their own standing ovation at the end and showed lots of applause.  The concert ended too quickly and the students were lucky enough to go down to the front of the theatre to look at the orchestra pit and a closer look at the stage.  Overall, the day was one that we will all remember quite fondly. Thank you Dance students!
• Year 13 Business and Economics students visited the Bank of England to learn about the different career pathways linked to financial studies.  The Lecturer commented that they were the only group hosted who knew the most about current economic affairs , including inflation
• Year 10 GCSE Music students attended the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane to see “Frozen the Musical”.  The show was spectacular.  The students were impeccably behaved and thoroughly enjoyed every second of it especially the song Let It Go with its resounding chorus.  The students were in awe of the costume changes and set design flourishes.  Members of the public complimented the students for their behaviour during the performance
• Year 12/13 Media students went to the BFI INTO Fil Festival to see “Nope” – a film about a brother and sister horse wrangling duo, who make a chilling discovery on their ranch in California and set out to document their findings
• A small group of Year 7 & 8 students went to the LookOut Discovery Centre in Hyde Park.  The students participated in educational sessions led by experts that inspired them with the nature and heritage of this famous green space
• Our sporty Year 10 & 11 students watched the London Lions in a basketball games at the Copper Box

Loxford took part in many sporting fixtures:-

• Year 8 football drew in their 2^nd match 1-1 against  the ATM Academy
• Year 10 football won against Chadwell Heath 5-2
• Year 9 football lost to Valentines 0-1
• Year 9 played their first basketball match but were defeated by Seven Kings 23-25
• Year 9 football drew 2-2 with Beal
• Year 10 netball won against Oaks Park 11-7
• Year 10 football lost to Forest 1-3
• Year 10 football won Mayfield 3-0
• Year 8 football lost to Woodbridge 0-5