The Chronicle

For information, summer reports will be ready on the Parent Portal next week on Wednesday 11 July. 

A letter will be sent home in the post explaining how to access the Parent Portal. Should you have any problems accessing the report, please phone the School Office on 01926 514444 or email receptionist@crackleyhall.co.uk.

Crackley Hall School Office 

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Prize Giving at Crackley Hall is the culmination of the academic year, it is a chance to reflect, a chance to celebrate and a chance to give thanks. This year’s Prize Giving took place on Friday 29 June with the Lower School receiving their awards in the afternoon and Junior 5 and 6 in the evening.

Crackley was delighted to welcome a number of special guests to the celebrations including Father Kevin Hooper, Chair of Trustees, Mrs Liz Griffin, Trustees Mrs Mary O’Farrell and Bernard Warner and Senior Foundation Headmaster, Ed Hester.

Headmaster, Mr Duigan gave a thought provoking speech, he gave thanks to the many who give so much to the school in so many ways – PTA, teachers, support staff, parents and most of all the pupils who make Crackley Hall so much more than just a school. He challenged every boy and every girl to wake up every day and ask themselves what they can do differently and to then at the end of the day reflect and give thanks. He encouraged all the children to strive to do their best, to laugh loudly and a lot, to never settle for second best, to believe and have faith and to never let anyone shatter your dreams or break your spirit.

Crackley Hall’s outgoing Head Boy, Fynn Walker, and Head Girl, Dari Kotlarsky, spoke movingly about their special Crackley journey, and the memories and friends they will take with them as they move on to secondary school.

And then there were the awards, book awards for progress, effort, achievement and school spirit and kindness. Followed by cups and shields and trophies galore, all recognising the diligence, effort and excellence that abounds at Crackley Hall.

It was difficult to pick winners for this year’s Special Awards as there were many worthy potential recipients and it was with great pride that Mr Duigan awarded the following:

St Joseph’s School Spirit Award – Alice Minshull

Scholarship Award – Kaena Wasley

Sister Mary Patrick Trophy for Caring – Pippa Cowdry

PTA Crackley Hall Shield – Hattie Underill

As the ceremonies concluded, all Crackley pupils were encouraged to reflect on their achievements this year, as prize winner or not, all should be rightfully proud.

At the evening ceremony Mr Cottrill announced the new Head Boy, Joe McCullough, and Head Girl, Francesca Kelly, who proudly took to the stage to receive their badges of office from Mr Duigan.

Finally, both ceremonies closed with a stirring rendition of the Foundation Hymn Here I Am Lord. 

This year’s spectacular summer production took place on Thursday 4 July at Leamington’s Spa Centre.  It was another whistle-stop tour through three magical, much loved, musical classics; The Wizard Of Oz, The Little Mermaid and My Fair Lady.  The children took to the stage like professionals and performed their numbers with passion and pizzazz.

The show opened with the story of The Wizard of Oz; when a tornado rips through Kansas, Dorothy and her dog, Toto, are whisked away to a magical land, there they meet the munchkins and en-route to the Emerald City a Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion.  Full of plenty of familiar singalong songs, such as Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead and Follow The Yellow Brick Road, bright costumes and snappy dance routines, Reception, Junior 4 and our principals from Junior 6 delivered an opening act that was a real crowd pleaser.

The Little Mermaid came next, the story of Ariel and her fascination with life on land.  Ariel makes a dangerous deal with the sea witch Ursula to become human for three days but when plans go awry the king makes the ultimate sacrifice for his daughter.  Full of fabulous characters such as Sebastian, Flounder, Scuttle and Ursula in yet more stunning, brightly coloured costumes, the leads from Junior 6 together with Junior 1, 2 and 3 delighted the audience with feel-good favourites such as Under The Sea, Part Of Your World and Kiss The Girl.  

The finale My Fair Lady delighted the audience, a real roller coaster with all our favourites brought to life with Higgins, Pickering and of course Eliza sweeping across the stage to rapturous applause. The story told of the phonetics professor Henry Higgins that takes it upon himself to transform a Cockney working-class girl into someone who can pass for a cultured member of high society.  Junior 5 and 6 delivered their toe-tapping, heart-warming songs with style and the audience really enjoyed Wouldn’t It Be Lovely, A Little Bit Of Luck and of course I’m Getting Married In The Morning.  It was a fabulous finish.

All through the show the audience greeted each performance with applause and when the final number was complete the appreciative audience went wild, cheering and whistling. Mr Duigan looked on proudly, Mrs Wildey, Mrs Olden, Ms Kefalas and Mrs Goode with satisfied smiles for after all the endless, tireless rehearsing the show was a triumphant success.

Of course no show like this could happen without the help of many, many people. Our thanks go to all of the staff involved in whatever way, all the parents for providing costumes and props and most of all to the children for working so hard at their numbers.

Drum roll please...the winner is...Thomas Zanyi (J3V). Thomas triumphed against stiff competition from across the year groups. His inspired title choice of 'A Musical Journey of Wonders' was expertly complemented by his exceptional depiction of characters from the various production shows, blending them together in imaginative cover art for the summer production programme. Well done Thomas!

The latest issue of The Pinnacle, out in time for the end of term, showcases yet more of our pupils' excellent work from across the Foundation.

In the middle there is a pullout (The Minnacle) which focuses on Crackley Hall and Crescent School.

You can view an electronic version of The Pinnacle here and The Minnacle here. Apologies to Erin King from J6 whose fabulous artwork of flowers in a vase was wrongly attributed in the hard copy of this edition of The Pinnacle, the electronic version attached is correct.

We hope you will enjoy finding out more about some of the incredible work our children do. 

We are pretty certain that even a glass eye would have shed a tear of pride, joy and sadness at our parting during the J6 Leavers Assembly. Junior 6 delighted the assembled school by using the hit television show 'Goggle Box' to reprise their time and many memories of Crackley. The Gables was to switch from school hall to front room as it became the setting for Betty and Bob, otherwise known as J6 pupils Sid Weir and Hattie Underhill, to recall school days in the show's unique style.

Their stories were told by virtue of the different shows these two 'experts' were watching, including Britain's Got Talent and Dr Who. One thing for sure, all were greeted with laughter, smiles and giggles from pupils, who were also treated with rousing songs sung by Junior 6 students - Million Dreams anyone? As if your emotions might let you sing it now. A tearful Mrs Lammas brought her handkerchief away from her eyes to say, "What an amazing leavers assembly and a fantastic year group. Both Mrs Horan and I have really enjoyed teaching this talented cohort of students. Good luck to all of you!" Do remember Junior 6, the word 'good bye' means 'God be with you'; Crackley will welcome you to visit whenever you can.

Olivia Swinson (J5R) and Chenchen Pan (J6L) scooped the winner's first place and prestigious silverware at the recent Leamington Music Festival in June. Olivia teamed up with her former classmates at Dassett Croft Primary School to play several pieces as a group string section made of violins. Chenchen on the other hand swapped her cello strings for the piano and walked away with 1st place in the piano duet. Well done both, you are an inspiration to us all.  

Rosie and George Moreton, Year 4 and Year 2 respectively, swept all competitors to the verges as they triumphed at the Ledbury Pony Club competition. Rosie, riding in the veterans category on her 33-year-old horse Blaze, took honours and the Reserve Champion rosette of the whole event. Not to be outdone, Rosie's brother George secured first place in the triathlon, where his fast feet and steady eye in the running and bean bag toss allied to his skillful handling of his pony Munchkin in the riding section secured the winner's top step. Well done team Moreton, Mr. Duigan is no doubt forming a plan of how Crackley might once again make an assault on the upcoming Foundation equestrian events.

1st: Saturn 207 points

2nd: Venus 150 points

3rd: Jupiter 129 points

4th: Mars 127 points