Children in Need
On Friday 14th November, we celebrated Children in Need at Robert Clack by dressing up in yellow, spots, or pyjamas.
The canteen staff helped make the day extra special by preparing a themed menu. The Pudsey Smartie Spots Cake was a particular favourite among the children!
Throughout the day, pupils had fun learning about the importance of working together and making a difference.
Despite the challenges facing the world and our community at this time, we are delighted to announce that we raised an incredible £182.58 for the charity. We are truly thankful to all our families for their generosity and contributions.
We are already looking forward to taking part in Children in Need again next November!
Bookfair Success
A huge thank you to everyone who attended the book fair. It was wonderful to see how excited the children were to visit—both during their class slot and after school. It is a real testament to our families that the children have developed such a strong love of reading.
Thanks to the sales made at the book fair, the school has earned £750 in rewards to spend on the Scholastic website. Your generosity means we can refresh our school library with brand-new books for the children to enjoy.
The book fair will return during the final summer half term and will be back again in November 2026. We look forward to earning even more rewards to spend on books for our pupils.
Back in October, we celebrated Black History Month. During our assemblies, we learnt about many inspirational Black pioneers for social justice, including Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. Each year, Iroko, a traditional African theatre company, visits our school to perform a story for all the children. Afterwards, every class has the opportunity to take part in two exciting workshops. This year, the children enjoyed both drumming and dance sessions. It is one of the most anticipated days of the school year. As Iroko were setting up during breakfast club, one of our Year 4 pupils exclaimed, “Yes, it’s Iroko Day!” During the assembly, the company told the story of Anansi the Spider, a character from Akan folklore in West Africa. The children were a fantastic audience—showing respect by listening attentively, while also joining in with dancing, singing, and chanting. Our visitors shared that they always love coming here because the children are enthusiastic, hardworking, and extremely well behaved. We are already looking forward to welcoming them back next year!
On Friday 24th October, a group of our Year 7 pupils took part in a Talk About Transition workshop delivered by the Jack Petchey Foundation. Throughout the day, pupils engaged in a range of interactive, oracy-based activities designed to strengthen their confidence, resilience, and communication skills as they continue their transition from primary to secondary school. These sessions also provided valuable opportunities for pupils to build new friendships and share their experiences of settling into life at Robert Clack School. One pupil reflected, “I thought I was the only one feeling worried about making new friends, but after the workshop I have made some new friends.” We are incredibly proud of the pupils who attended. Their behaviour, enthusiasm, and maturity were exemplary. Mr. Nankivell (Head of Year 7 - Gosfield Road)
This term, Year 3 and 4 had the great opportunity of attending the Royal Opera House in London to watch the ballet performance: ‘La Fille mal gardée’. Due to a last-minute train cancellation, the children rode on both the bus to Dagenham Heathway station and then on the District Line into central London. After eating their packed lunch at the venue, the children went into the huge auditorium for the first act, followed by a refreshing ice cream during the interval. The children enjoyed the performance, with some children expressing how they enjoyed seeing the professionals do the things they do in their after-school dancing clubs. It was then back to the Elizabeth line for the journey home. Fun was had by all who attended this truly enriching experience.
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Students from the Debate Club across the three sites enjoyed an inspiring trip to the UK Parliament this week as part of UK Parliament Week 2025. Their visit took them through historic areas, including guided tours of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, where they gained a close-up look at how national decisions are made. The group also had the opportunity to sit in on live debates, giving them a real sense of the energy and importance of parliamentary discussion. A highlight of the day was a hands-on petition workshop, where students learned how public voices can influence government action. The visit ended on a fun note with a stop at the Parliament gift shop, where students picked up keepsakes to remember their day at the heart of British democracy. The trip left many students feeling inspired — and perhaps even considering futures in politics, public service, or advocacy.
Year 10 Art students visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington as part of their coursework and idea development. The trip provided an excellent opportunity for students to engage in observational drawing studies of the sculpture pieces within the gallery. They also spent time exploring and learning from the museum’s vast collection. All students were absolutely fantastic—well-behaved, enthusiastic, and a credit to our school.
On 20/10/25 30 Year 9 students from across the three sites attended the New Scientist Live 2025 Expo. Travelling on the Elizabeth Line students experienced a bit of what it was like to commute to a place of work. They were able to tour the venue and speak with dozens of industry professionals and scientists from all types of STEM. They attended talks/demos with exciting explosions and a cannon or two! (Perfectly safe!), along with learning about how magicians actually trick our brains. They were able to complete competitions and learn about many exciting careers in STEM from people working in them right now. As an added bonus they received many free things, including stationary, bags and even T-shirts. Many students expressed how much they enjoyed the day with one student reporting ‘we learned when we got there and had fun’. Well done to all our Year 9s who attended for representing the school is such a positive light.
The U16 girls travelled away to Leventhorpe School in Sawbridgeworth yesterday. They battled up hill in the first half of the game and were glad to have the downhill in the second half. Zoe Freeman managed to convert all eight of our try's, even some right on the touchline. Try's were scored by Shola (her first one), Belange, Joan (x2), Blessing, Keziah, Eureka and Natasha. Making the final score 19-56 to our girls. Leventhorpe chose Belange as our back of the match and Joanna as our forward. Coaches player went to Arba for her relentless tackling and rucking and Captains player went to Keziah.
On Friday 17 th October our year 13 history cohort visited Hampton Court Palace, the home of many key characters from their A-level such as Cardinal Wolsey and even Henry VIII himself. The students were first able to explore the palace, from kitchens to chapel, wardrobe room to the 'Room of Great Easement' (also known as the toilet), and everything in between. They even had time to run a quick Privy Council meeting! After their time exploring the students participated in a workshop led by an expert on Hampton Court Palace on the topic of the English Reformation. It had been clear all day that our students are well-versed in everything Tudor, a clear result of their exceptional hard work over year 12, but during this workshop they really impressed everyone. There was no question they could not answer, and yet they had their own questions about what they had seen as they still wanted to know more. Some of the highlights from our year 13 students included the magnificent tapestries, the 'eaves droppers' ensuring nobody spoke badly about the King and arguably the most popular story, that the ghost of Catherine Howard still haunts the halls.
Twenty of our superb Year 12 Sixth Form students showcased themselves to be capable and highly skilled future surgeons on Monday 13th October as they visited the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), London. Students began the day displaying excellent biological understanding at the Alexander Fleming Museum at St. Mary’s Hospital. Here, our pupils were able to demonstrate fantastic understanding of penicillin, antibiotic resistance and the importance of enzymes in cells whilst stood in the laboratory of Alexander Fleming, the scientist who discovered the world’s first antibiotic “by accident”. Upon commencing their afternoon session at the Royal Society of Surgeons, our students displayed excellent dexterity and care gloving and gowning up, sticking to aseptic techniques whilst listening with great enthusiasm to three expert surgeons who were beyond complimentary of our pupils' knowledge and engagement. Most impressively, all of our Year 12 pupils quickly mastered complicated suturing (even surpassing their teachers!) and once again, showcased their excellent skill set and high aptitude for learning complex techniques in a short span of time. It filled Mrs Jolly and Mr Skeels with great reassurance watching our pupils suture practice wounds so carefully, knowing full well that if we ever needed emergency care that we'd be in very safe hands. On behalf of the Science department and Robert Clack School, well done to our Year 12 students and future surgeons who upheld our ethos of high expectations, high standards and hard work on this trip!