Over the past year and a half myself and the school have been working closely with Forward Arts Foundation to establish student-led poetry groups in schools across Barking and Dagenham. During December, eight of our 'Poetry Pioneers' were invited by The Forward Arts Foundation to take part in an incredibly exciting opportunity: To create resources, videos, guidelines and even a logo for a Young Poet Leader's Toolkit. They attended two days of workshops with two other schools in the Barking and Dagenham area, and took active parts in planning, structuring and even creating films with a professional filming team for the toolkit! All of these resources will then be published for this year's National Poetry Day (1st October 2026) on their website and social media, accessible to thousands of school and colleges across the country, and millions of students and teachers. This is the first time that The Forward Arts Foundation will publish resources that are completely student-created, and our students are a part of this. The Poetry Pioneers have worked incredibly hard, have shown such dedication and commitment to poetry within our school and have represented our school professionally and proudly in this monumental moment. Mrs Fox

The art department again had the chance to attend the ARTiculation London finals heat where we were privy to an extraordinary presentation on photographer Uldus Bakhtiozina by our y12 art and photography student Maria Vesca. The lead judges Alex Bispham and Dr Alan Crookham shared how much they loved the "immediacy of Maria’s presentation, which felt direct, personal and engaging." They praised her for responding so thoughtfully to their questions and congratulated her on "approaching culture in such a fresh, original and “out of the box” way." Amazing work Maria we are very proud of you.

What a fantastic start to Wednesday! Mrs Rose and the Beauty Department organised a wonderful charity breakfast, with all donations going to the Williams Syndrome Foundation.  Williams Syndrome is a rare genetic condition, and the foundation works tirelessly to support affected families, promote wellbeing, and fund vital research into the condition. A fantastic spread was laid out, complete with unlimited tea, coffee, and juice, giving staff a welcome opportunity to catch up and connect before the school day began. Santa even arrived to join the festivities! Thank you to everyone who contributed to making the event such a success and helping us raise £521.38

What a fantastic start to Wednesday! Mrs Rose and the Beauty Department organised a wonderful charity breakfast, with all donations going to the Williams Syndrome Foundation. Williams Syndrome is a rare genetic condition, and the foundation works tirelessly to support affected families, promote wellbeing, and fund vital research into the condition.  A fantastic spread was laid out, complete with unlimited tea, coffee, and juice, giving staff a welcome opportunity to catch up and connect before the school day began. Santa even arrived to join the festivities! Thank you to everyone who contributed to making the event such a success.

As part of the Into Film Autumn Film Festival we arranged our biggest ever Film Club trip taking 45 Film Clubbers from all three sites and 15 KS5 Media Studies students to see the ultimate in 1980s film revival - Karate Kid: Legends at the Vue cinema in Romford. The original was released in 1984 and for many it is an absolute classic! Karate Kid: Legend is the sixth film in the franchise and although Mr Miyagi is gone, he is certainly not forgotten in this latest instalment. Joshua Jackson, a familiar face to us kids of the 90s, plays a down-on-his-luck ex-boxer dad and Jackie Chan brings his trademark light, energetic but undeniably authentic performance as Mr Han - Mr Miyagi's old friend. Miyagi karate is what brings these characters together and is the reason we see the return of 'Danielson' Ralph Macchio. Students had lots of fun experiencing everything that comes with going to the cinema, including a healthy dose of popcorn all before 10am! They were also lucky enough to receive a free cinema ticket form the Vue cinema to use over the Christmas holidays! I cant wait to hear what everyone went to see! Special thanks to Mrs Fox, Mr Roberts and Mr Evans for your help on the day and making Film Club accessible for so many. We look forward to the next one in the spring term! Mrs Crowther-Green and the Film and Media Department

Year 2 had a fantastic trip to Barking Gurdwara this week (wb 8th December). The children travelled sensibly on the bus and represented the school beautifully throughout the day. When they arrived, they were warmly welcomed and shown around the building, learning about its special features and significance. They also took part in an engaging session about Sikhism, where they discovered key beliefs and traditions. The children asked lots of thoughtful questions and showed great curiosity. Staff at the Gurdwara commented on how polite and respectful they were, a real credit to the school! 

For the third year in a row A Level Film Studies students attended a study day on silent cinema at the BFI Southbank in Central London. We’ve got another busy year of trips planned for our Film and Media Studies students and this was our first to the BFI this year. The study day offered a brilliant insight into the aesthetics of different silent film movements, including German Expressionism, Soviet Montage, Constructivism and Surrealism. Most importantly students discovered that film has never actually been silent as it has always been animated by music. We had a glimpse into the fantastical world of The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920), saw the sights of 1920s Moscow in Man With A Movie Camera (1929) and watched in amazement at the antics of Buster Keaton in The General (1926). Our day concluded with a screening of F. W. Murnau’s expressionistic Sunrise (1927) with a live piano accompaniment from world famous performer, composer and presenter Neil Brand. Neil Brand has composed music for a variety of films and presented many radio and television programmes regarding sound in cinema. He also now hosts his own podcast on music. It was a real treat to listen to him play and then talk about the experience in a Q & A afterwards. He gave us a wonderful insight into the process behind playing live to accompany a silent film and explained how every accompaniment is completely unique. The music is improvised by him as he watches the film with the audience! We were all utterly captivated by his amazing ability to improvise on the piano for nearly two hours. The experience really gave us a deeper understanding of the power of music when united with striking and beautiful film images. Silent Cinema is just one of the exciting topics studied on the A Level Film Studies course. From Surrealism and World Cinema to Contemporary Hollywood Cinema we cover it all! If you are in Year 11 and would like to find out more about the course, drop in to see Mr Johnson, Mrs Evans, Mrs Crowther-Green or Miss Fernando in rooms 41 or 42 at Green Lane or Mr Roberts at Gosfield Road. Mr Johnson and Mr Roberts

Students from the Robert Clack Debate Club across all three sites attended the Annual Winter Model United Nations (MUN), a much-anticipated highlight in our debating calendar. The two-day event took place at Mulberry School, which hosts the largest MUN programme for state secondary and international schools in the UK. At these professional conferences, students assume the roles of ambassadors in simulations of UN committees. This year’s theme focused on "The Use of AI," sparking thoughtful discussions on some of the most pressing issues facing vulnerable populations around the world. The event fostered cooperation, leadership, public speaking, and global citizenship in a warm and supportive environment. Our school represented North Korea, Norway, and Canada at the conference. This year, we earned a total of eight awards and proudly ranked second overall. While we didn’t win the top spot as we did last year, we were pleased to receive more delegate awards than at last winter's event. The awards were as follows: Sami – Distinguished Delegate Daniel – Peacekeeper and Honourable Mention Adam – Honourable Mention Safa – Distinguished Delegate Sophie – Honourable Mention Zafir – Distinguished Delegate Samaira – Kindness Award Sabira – Best Delegate David – Distinguished Delegate  A huge congratulations to everyone involved — we are incredibly proud of all your hard work and achievements!

For the 7 th year in a row Robert Clack welcomed author of the Jamie Johnson series, Dan Freedman, into all of our schools to come and speak to our year 7 cohort. His message is a simple one: reading is important and it can help you to become anything! Dan explained how he crafted his love of football and his love of reading into his dream job; a football journalist. He basically got paid to watch football! Our year 7 students heard stories of Dan interviewing Christiano Ronaldo, meeting the Queen and travelling the world with the England Football Team alongside the likes of David Beckham, John Terry and Steven Gerrard as the team journalist. He told them how he made the switch from jounalist to author and how he created one of the most beloved football characters on the TV - Jamie Johnson. Students were surprised by how much grit and determination Dan had to find to get his books published as he was rejected by every publisher in the UK for three years! But, they also learned a valuable lesson in never giving up and working hard - qualities also found in the Robert Clack school ethos! Students had ample opportunities to ask Dan loads of questions and one pupil from each school was awarded a signed training football for the best question. What an amazing early Christmas gift! Each site also selected a group of VIP students who won a copy of Dan's Born to Play story and got the chance to privately meet him and get their book signed. Dan's visits are always a lot of fun for students and staff alike and it's good to know Dan enjoys his visit here too. This is what he had to say about this year's assemblies: “It was an absolute privilege to visit Robert Clack to help celebrate the joys of reading and writing with the students. I couldn’t have hoped for a better students - the whole event was such a positive experience. I thought the sessions went really well and it was very impactful to see how many students wanted to ask a question! The students were a great combination of enthusiastic, interactive as well as being very polite and listening well. They represented the school fantastically. “We discussed the power of reading and writing - and how sport and stories allow us to make bonds and build friendships. We also talked about resilience and how real-life stories can be woven into fiction. Plus we explored all the varied and incredible career opportunities that are available within football, even if you don’t make it as one of the twenty two players on the pitch. “It was a pleasure to speak with the students. This was my seventh visit to Robert Clack and it’s always a terrific experience, but these students were standout. They were so impressive. Thanks to Mrs Crowther-Green for inviting me to your vibrant, thriving school and organising such a great day. I hope the experience encourages the students to Go For Their Goals.” Dan Freedman We look forward to inviting Dan back next year and hearing all about his new book!