archive of student achievement:
Student Achievement
From the Evening Standard newspaper, 11th May 2009:
They’ve got talent: pupils to take on the world
One is a musical star in the making, the other a sporting prodigy. Both have the world at their feet.
Ashton Russell and Rochelle Rhodes, growing up in one of London's most deprived boroughs, are among a wave of talented teenagers to emerge from an award-winning state school.
Welcome to the class of 09 at Robert Clack school in Dagenham. Rochelle is a netball international and Ashton the star of a West End hit but the school contains future doctors, economists, artists and one pupil who wants to be the Mayor of London.
In headteacher Paul Grant's first week he suspended 300 pupils out of 2,000 to rid the school of its “anything goes” culture and replace it with a disciplined approach to learning.
That effort was rewarded last week when the school was honoured in the Evening Standard School Awards for “outstanding achievement in challenging circumstance” after unprecedented pass rates in A-levels and GCSEs.
Mr Grant said: “The children in our type of community have no chance unless they have that structure. The challenges they face at home are huge so it's really important that when they come into school it is calm and compassionate but focused on achievement.”
Ashton, 15, appears as often as four time a week at the Lyric theatre, playing a young Michael Jackson in the musical Thriller Live! He said: “It is the best thing that has ever happened to me and now I feel like I can make a career out of singing and dancing. My school has been pushing me further all the time. I used to be quiet and shy but then I joined the boys' choir at Robert Clack and they were so encouraging and built up my confidence.
“The school is filled with people who want to do well and the teachers are always telling us what we can achieve.”
His mother Sonia could not afford to put him in a stage school but sent him to an £8-a-week dance studio in Rainham where she works as a part-time dresser. She said: “The school has been amazing. They encourage kids so much and Ashton knows that he wouldn't be on stage if it wasn't for his teachers.”
Rochelle is 16 but is already playing for England Under-19s at netball. She is tipped to play for the full side at the 2014 Commonwealth Games — netball is not an Olympic sport. She attributes her breakthrough to her parents and encouragement from teachers.
Rochelle said: “My PE teacher, Kate Georgelini, has put in so much time and effort to help. She is so passionate, like so many teachers at the school, that I feel I don't want to let them down.”
Rochelle's parents Hector and Tina Rhodes have supported her netball ambitions but they, too, are quick to thank her school. Mr Rhodes, a night manager at a Tesco store in Hackney, said: “The school brought in a coach who nurtured her talent. When someone is good at something and they enjoy it you see a change in their confidence and that happened with Rochelle.”
Tapfama Mawayo, 16
Studying GCSEs including music, business studies, art and history.
Ambition: “My heart lies on being a doctor. I play football and rugby for the school. I sing in the choir as well.”
Tunde Sowande, 16
Studying GCSEs including history, psychology, ICT and business
Ambition: “I would start as a barrister and then progress into politics. Start off small, then go for Mayor of London.”
Chris Lemmerman, 18Studying A-levels in maths, economics, physics and chemistry
Ambition: “I want to teach. I can see looking at the teachers here how much satisfaction you can get from it.”
Ashton Russell, 15
Studying business, music and history
Ambition: “I am looking for an agent to get TV and maybe West End work. I also want to study theatre design.”
George Lovell, 16
Studying history, music and theatre
Ambition: “My passion is music, but I would also like to be a forensic scientist or teacher.”
Tina Imatitikua, 17
Studying A-levels in biology, chemistry, economics and maths
Ambition: “I want to study medicine at Oxford I would love to go back to Africa and work at a teaching hospital.”
Margaret Riach, 18
Studying A-Levels in maths. Accepted to study economics at Cambridge
Ambition: “I'm going on a conservation expedition with the school to Honduras in July to research tropical canopies.”
Ben Thorne, 16
Studying drama, psychology and history
Ambition: “I would like a creative job — a photographer, presenter, maybe a journalist — and keep my options open.”
Aarron Dinsdale, 17
Studying BTEC in Business and IT
Ambition: “I want to build hardware or software systems. I have cerebral palsy but it will not hold me back one bit.”
Rochelle Rhodes, 16
Studying GCSEs including catering, French, business and history
Ambition: “I play for the England Under-19 netball team. I want to be a sports psychologist.”
Joshua Aderyeje, 16
Studying GCSEs including music, history, psychology and design
Ambition: “I want to be a barrister.”
Mitchell Sinfield, 16
Studying GCSEs including history, ICT business and drama
Ambition: “I love acting. I'm in the school rugby, football and cricket team.”
Michael Smith, 15
Studying history, French and geography
Ambition: “I'm secretary on the school council. I want a career in teaching and hopefully come back here one day.”
Michelle Makunganya, 15
Studying art, history and ICT
Ambition: “I want to be in the performing arts industry and still be educated. I want a degree in law.”
Jake Knowles, 15
Studying GCSEs including in music, history, ICT, graphics
Ambition: “I'm a drummer. I'm not too sure what I want to do yet.”
Clack boys on the march to Twickenham
The Year 7 rugby team from Robert Clack School were crowned Essex Champions after a scintillating display at Southend Rugby Club on Wednesday 4th March. Robert Clack had already won through the first round of the competiton by beating the local schools at the East London leg of the competition last month at Barking Rugby Club. Clack therefore qualified to represent the area at the Essex tournament along side the other top schools from their respective regions.
The Clack team proved too strong for the opposition remaining undefeated in all four games scoring 12 tries and conceding only 1. Robert clack now go onto represent Essex at the next stage of the competition at Bishop Stortford at the end of March, if they are successful again they could end up playing to a packed house before a big game at Twickenham, the home of rugby. The next stage of the tournament takes place on March 27th.
Team: Rawlings, Fairburn, Soetan, Kena, Bessant, Carley, Ebuki, Mahoney, Duke, Agbabiaka, Nwobi, Walker, Mungazi, Tarbard, Abiola.
Photography Club
The Robert Clack Photography Club started in 2008. The club is open to all students.
It provides the opportunity for students to demonstrate creativity in a variety of ways. It also enables them to take a closer look at the world around them and therefore to appreciate its richness and diversity.
The club aims to hold three competitions a year, the first an open theme and the next two on set themes. We also intend to hold exhibitions on a variety of themes in the future.
As well as taking photographs we also teach Students the fundamentals of image enhancement using Adobe Photoshop CS and the more basic Adobe Photoshop Elements.
In 2008 members undertook a trip to London which was enjoyed by all. Trips will be a key element of the club.
Mr Morgan
Building Schools for the Future
Last September, Barking and Dagenham’s secondary schools began working with the Sorrell Foundation in Somerset House. The students represented the student voice in the BSF process for their own schools.
Robert Clack’s presentations to Lady Frances Sorrell and their feedback in the council chamber impressed many people. So much so that the school was featured in an extensive feature on the role of the student voice in the BSF project in The Guardian newspaper.
At the end of this project two members of the Robert Clack BSF team , students Harry Coster and Agne Trimakaite were invited to sit on the Sorrell Foundations Pupil Advisory Board:
This is a group of 10 student selected from over 100 schools nationwide to work with Lady Francis. In October Harry was asked to give a speech at the Department for Schools, Children and Families (DCSF) and he presented Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, with the Borough’s pupil briefs for the BSF Project:
Running alongside this, in March 2008 Robert Clack School was asked to work with CABE (The Commission for the Built Environment) who advise the government on public building design:
Twenty students worked with Margaret Hodge MP, the Architecture Foundation and the architects of the Barking Learning Centre, this project culminated in an exhibition in the Learning Centre:
As a result of this during the summer two 6th form students worked on a CABE project on the Olympic site in Stratford and one of the Robert Clack students work is displayed on the page for O Space initiative.
In September the school was invited to the Creative Britain event in central London. Here 200 students from across London met with designers from the advertising and film industry:
Finally in the summer of 2008. Mr Argent was invited to a brain storming session at Somerset House for a new project by the Home Office called Designing Out Crime. As a result ofr this, 10 Robert Clack students are now working with the foundation and two other schools to produce a presentation that will be given at the Home Office to Jacqui Smith.
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Younger students welcome the excellent role models displayed by older students. This enables them to make an effective contribution to the school. Students are proud of their significant involvement in decision making at the school. This has encouraged their awareness of how to learn more effectively and consequently improve their work. Students' participation in sporting activities is high. They develop excellent relationships with the community, and take part in a range of performances attended by parents and other people from the area.
