For the 7th 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! 

Annual Teacher vs Student Debate 2026

By npower • March 13, 2026
Our debate club recently hosted an engaging Teacher vs Student debate on the motion: “This house would allow all mobile phones to be used in school for research.” This was a relevant topic as the use of mobile phones in schools is a current news story! Both teams delivered thoughtful arguments, lively rebuttals, and demonstrated excellent public speaking skills. Overall, the winners were the teachers!

British Science Week - Marble Run

By npower • March 12, 2026
The British Science Week marble run activity took place on Wednesday after school. It was a real fun activity and pupils immersed themselves fully in a competitive manner. Sami and Labibul were the winners but the others did incredibly well. Well done to all the students who took part - Sara, Hanna, Sami, Labibul, Gabrieele, Illarion and Arthur

Year 9 Students Inspired by Medical Career Talk by former pupil

By npower • March 7, 2026
Dr Lara Akinnawonu (class of 2017) joined a group of our Year 9 Lymington Fields students today via Teams students to share her experiences of working in medicine. During the session, she gave students an insight into a “day in the life of a doctor”, explaining that the role is varied, fast-paced, and filled with constant learning. She also spoke about the key skills that make a good doctor, highlighting the importance of strong communication, empathy, and a commitment to continually developing knowledge and understanding. Thank you to Dr Lara for taking the time to inspire our students and give them a valuable glimpse into a career in healthcare.

Essex 7s - Year 8

By npower • March 7, 2026
Yesterday, the Year 8 boys competed in the annual Essex 7s tournament hosted by New Hall School.  Robert Clack faced three tough fixtures in the main Cup competition, beating Brentwood and Westcliff, drawing against King John, and narrowly losing to Campion. This performance saw the Year 8s progress to the Cup semi-final against a strong Woodlands side. Robert Clack delivered an outstanding performance, securing a 20–10 victory. The boys then advanced to the final against a strong Campion team. It was a highly competitive game throughout, with the score 5–5 at half-time and 10–10 at full-time. A golden try was needed to decide the winner. Unfortunately, Campion scored first, meaning they were crowned overall champions, with Robert Clack finishing as worthy runners-up. Well done to the boys on a well-earned achievement. Compared to last year, when they did not win a single group game, this represents excellent progress. Outstanding work!

Jack Cooper inspires Year 9 with his Degree Apprenticeship Journey

By npower • February 26, 2026
We were proud to welcome back former student Jack Cooper to speak with our Year 9 cohort about his journey into the construction industry via Teams. After leaving Sixth Form in 2025, Jack secured a degree apprenticeship with The Hill Group, where he now works as a Technical Coordinator. He shared valuable insight into the apprenticeship route, highlighting how subject choices, extracurricular involvement, and developing transferable skills such as teamwork, leadership, communication and resilience helped prepare him for the workplace. Students were particularly interested in hearing about his day-to-day role — from reviewing plans and liaising with teams to solving on-site challenges — as well as how he balances university study alongside hands-on industry experience as part of his degree apprenticeship. Jack also spoke about the impact of our partnerships with organisations such as Construction Youth Trust, which provide mentoring and support for students pursuing careers in construction. His journey is a fantastic example of the diverse and rewarding pathways available after school. We are incredibly grateful to Jack for returning to inspire the next generation — and we look forward to seeing many more students follow in his footsteps.

Senior Debate Squad Leads Show Debate

By npower • February 26, 2026
This half term, the Robert Clack Senior Debate Squad had the opportunity to visit the local primary school, Grafton, to participate in a Q&A session and deliver a showcase debate. The motion considered whether primary or secondary school provides a better environment for children’s development. The teams were mixed, allowing the older students to mentor the younger pupils.  Well done to all Grafton and Robert Clack students who took part. We look forward to visiting again in the future.

Entrepreneur Academy Final

By npower • February 22, 2026
On Thursday 13 th February we held the final presentations of our Sixth Form Entrepreneur Academy — Dragon’s Den style — and our students absolutely delivered. The brief: Create a product or service for 16–21 year olds that could be used by college or university students. It could be an invention or an innovation, tailored to a specific audience, with full cost research and a clear business case. The results? Innovative ideas. Professional presentations. Exceptional teamwork. 🏆 Winners: Imperium – an inventive mobile banking app designed specifically for the student market. A genuinely original concept, clearly aligned to the needs of their target audience. 🥈 Runners-up: Magniglasses – a smart glasses concept with a more affordable, accessible design. A brilliant example of innovation with commercial awareness. Every team impressed our judges with: • The quality of their ideas • Confident, professional pitching • Strong market research and costings • Clear marketing strategies It was fantastic to see many teams applying insights from our guest speakers — and even incorporating Out of Home advertising into their marketing plans following their visit to Bauer Media Group . A huge thank you to our volunteers and judges who generously gave up their time to support and challenge our students. The future of entrepreneurship is in very safe hands.

Alumni Power In Action

By npower • February 22, 2026
It’s always fantastic to see our students thinking ambitiously about their futures. Recently, Year 12 student MP shared her aspiration to become a Social Worker and asked whether Mrs Monk could connect her with a former student working in the field. Mrs Monk immediately reached out to Nanah Kamara who was more than happy to help. Nanah left Robert Clack in 2019 and, after completing her undergraduate degree, is now a fully qualified Social Worker. A meeting was set up via Teams on Wednesday 11th February, and MP came exceptionally well prepared — asking thoughtful, probing questions about relevant work experience, degree structure, and the training involved in qualifying as a Social Worker. A huge thank you to Nanah for giving up her time to support the next generation and for being such a positive role model for our students. Moments like this truly show the power of our alumni network.

UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge

By npower • February 10, 2026
On January the 28th, 340 of our most able Mathematicians took part in the UKMT Intermediate challenge. The challenge is a national competition where our students get to compete with the best Mathematicians in the country. The challenge has students utilise their mathematical reasoning and fluency in using the basic mathematical techniques learned from school to solve unique and interesting questions and challenges on the paper. The problems on the Intermediate Mathematical Challenge promote critical thinking skills, often making pupils apply their knowledge in unfamiliar ways in order to solve a problem. Our results have just come in and we had 82 Bronze awards, 36 Silver awards and an amazing 9 Gold awards. To put this into context, only 11% of entrants achieve the Gold awards nationally. A special mention to Abisman Rajakumar for achieving the highest in the school and David Karpovych for the highest in Year 9. They, along with 5 others, will have the opportunity to go into the follow-on Kangaroo round for the elite Mathematicians in the country.  Mr Rahman, Ms Hibbit & Ms Tahir

Essex Number 1

By npower • February 9, 2026
This season George in year 11 has been the starting Goalkeeper in the county under 16 schools football team.  The Essex team are enjoying a particularly successful season, they are currently awaiting their national cup quarter final away in Devon which is due to take place this month. Georges involvement is no surprise to the PE department, he is an outstanding all round sports man who is not only our goalkeeper, but also a key part of the Athletics, Cricket and Rugby team. Well done George and good luck in the next round.