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

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!

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What we have been learning This term children have really enjoyed their ‘Winter News’ Topic. We started the topic by carefully looking at seasonal changes by going on a winter walk in nature. We then learnt all about animals and insects that hibernate over winter and how seasonal changes can affect some plants and trees over time. Children absolutely loved the owl visit that occurred earlier this term, and it inspired them to think about how wild animals survive the winter months. In Art, children had tremendous fun mixing various primary colours to make a secondary colour. In our learning wonders, children explored the story of Diwali. In RE children have been learning the story of Christmas and worked really hard to learn all the Christmas songs for our concert. A most enjoyable visit to our local church consolidated their learning about the story of Christmas. Christmas is also the time to celebrate and have fun and we all certainly enjoyed wearing our fun Christmas jumpers for lunch!  Upcoming Learning Next half term we will be reading a range of traditional and alternative fairy tales to develop our imagination and writing skills. In Maths, we will be focusing on addition and subtraction skills as well as learning our number bonds to 20. In Science, we will be exploring the topic of ‘materials’ and in History we will be learning all about the worlds greatest inventors and how their inventions have shaped and impacted the modern world.

Former Student Inspires Year 12 with Insight into Management Consultancy

One of our Year 11 students, Titas, recently expressed a keen interest in Aeronautical Engineering, and we were delighted to arrange a Microsoft Teams call with former pupil Kingsley, who is currently studying the subject at Loughborough University.  During the conversation, they discussed industry opportunities and explored the best ways to build a strong portfolio that could give aspiring engineers a real advantage when applying for future courses or apprenticeships. Kingsley was incredibly impressed by the Titas’s initiative, commenting that “it’s amazing and rare for a Year 11 student to go above and beyond like this.” We are proud to support such enthusiasm and ambition, and we look forward to seeing where this inspiration will take Titas next!

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!