The Chronicle

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Crackley Hall School’s Firecrackers have won Best Engineered Car at this year’s National Finals of the Jaguar Primary School Challenge.

On Tuesday 11 June the team of five Year 4 pupils travelled to the British Motor Museum at Gaydon, Warwickshire to take part in the competition.  They were one of 39 schools that had won through from local Regional Finals.

Team ‘Firecrackers’, comprising Junior 4’s Amelia Hunt, Jasper Nicholls, Woody Osborn, Henry Verity and Thomas Zanyi, had been working hard, after school, all year to prepare for the day. 

The challenge requires teams to research, design, manufacture, test, promote and race the fastest car possible using standard chassis and engine housing nets with a car body made only from card. It is a technical brief but one that has proven to really engage potential future engineers.

Each team took part in an Engineering judging where the team were examined on their car design and manufacturing process; a Verbal presentation where the judges were looking at technique, composition and knowledge of subject matter and a Portfolio and Pit Stop Display inspection where the team had to carefully explain their displays to the judges.

During the day, the Firecrackers also had to complete an Additional Design Technology Challenge to design and manufacture a car of the future.  The focus of the exercise was once again to test the team’s ability to work together, delegate, design and manufacture.

Finally, the Firecrackers had to race their car head-to-head down the racetrack.

Standards were incredibly high but the children had worked so hard.   The Firecrackers waited calmly but confidently, and when the results were announced, they could hardly believe it.  They had they won the award for 'Best Engineered Car'.

Mrs Hardwick and Mrs Spillane who helped guide the Crackley Hall team were jubilant, “What an amazing day. Our Crackley Hall pupils have worked so hard. They’ve dealt with the pressure of competition brilliantly and we are so very proud of them.”

Huge thanks must also go to the team's sponsors Skywave Communications, Chapter Agency, Sew2It Sewing School, WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group), Laser Tools, Race Rapid and Tow-Trust Towbars, and of course the children’s parents.  We are very grateful for all your support and hard work.

Dear Parents,

After working in J1 for 10 years and watching my own three children, Mayia, Oscar and Rocco flourish here, the time is right for Mrs George to move onto the next chapter in life’s book. I feel blessed to have worked with so many gorgeous children and families and will leave with many cherished memories. Each year group I have taught, have left their own special place in my heart, and I will remember each and every one of them. I would like to pass on my fondest wishes to the remaining extremely hardworking staff, many have become dear and lifelong friends. I would also like to thank Mr Duigan for always showing empathy and compassion. Every ship needs a wise and strong captain.

Thank you Crackley.

An unprecedented seven Crackley Hall athletes have qualified to take part in this year’s Independent Schools Association’s National Track and Field Championships reflecting the breadth of sporting excellence nurtured through class and extra-curricular sporting opportunities at the school.

On Thursday 6 June a team of 37 Junior 4, 5 and 6 pupils travelled to Birmingham’s prestigious Alexander Stadium to compete against 31 schools in the Midlands Regional ISA Athletics Qualifier.

Many of the children put in amazing performances and the school was delighted that a record number of athletes were placed in both track and field events. Crackley children numbered in the top eight in 34 of the competition’s 42 events and the school was delighted to finish in third place overall.

PE teacher Mrs Kat Vaughan praised the outstanding attitude adopted by the Crackley team. “It was a long and exciting day,“ commented Mrs Vaughan. “There were many excellent achievements with children achieving new personal bests. It was our most successful outing ever and I am very proud that so many children have qualified for the National Championships.”

Crackley’s highlights included Elle Weir qualifying in the 600m, Max Kiely qualifying in the 60m sprint and the 600m and Wilf Grindal qualifying with his Cricket Ball Throw. Freddie Knott finished in 2nd place in the High Jump and has also been selected to represent the Midlands at the Nationals. Alistair Darnell also finished in 3rd place in the 80m sprint.

On the day, every Crackley relay team qualified for the finals and the Year 6 Boys, Alistair Darnell, Freddie Knott, Oscar Glover and Bobby Chapman won the Year 6 Boys Relay and qualified for the Nationals. The Junior 4 Boys just missed out with a 2nd place finish in the Relay.

Finally the Year 6 Boys finished 1st overall, the Year 4 Boys placed 2nd and the Year 4 Girls 3rd.

The ISA National Track and Field Championships take place next week on Wednesday 19 June, also at the Alexander Stadium. We wish Elle, Max, Wilf, Freddie, Oscar, Alistair and Bobby the best of luck at the National Finals.

Crackley Hall was delighted to welcome, Old Princethorpian and Cricket Ambassador for Complete Cricket, Ian Bell MBE into school on Tuesday 11 June for a special Batting Masterclass.

Complete Cricket, who are one of the largest professional cricket coaching providers in the UK, run a co-curricular cricket programme at Crackley Hall.  They had organised the masterclass to provide 24 Junior 4, 5 and 6 pupils with a unique opportunity to be coached by an England and Warwickshire cricketing legend.

Alongside Complete Cricket’s coaches Jamie Spires and Sam Montieri, Ian put the awestruck boys through their paces.  From the start he stressed the importance of getting the fundamentals right, looking at grip, stance, backlift and alignment, his message was ‘cricket is simple if you get the basics right’. Over the two-hour session, you could see the boys’ cricket improve as they worked in groups to put Ian’s advice into practise. After all the drills there was just time for a quick game so everyone could put their new skills into action.

The session finished with a question and answer session.  Ian was enthusiastically quizzed by the boys, with questions ranging from ‘Who was the most challenging bowler you faced?’ and ‘Where were the most difficult pitches to play on?’ to ‘What was it like to play with Freddie Flintoff?’  They even quizzed Ian on his time at Princethorpe.  Ian answered all their questions good-naturedly explaining that he had always enjoyed sport and had first played for Warwickshire in their U10 squad.   He encouraged the boys to play all sports, talking about all the opportunities he had at Princethorpe and the inspiration and support he had received from the College’s former Director of Sport, Gwilym Price.  He said, “I loved sport and at Princethorpe I played everything - rugby, football, hockey and cricket.  I was 16 when I finally decided that cricket was what I wanted to do.” 

Jamie Spires, Sales & Marketing Director at Complete Cricket, explained, “Here at Complete Cricket, we are dedicated to helping all of the players we coach enjoy the opportunities that playing this great game offers. Not many young players get the chance to work with, or learn from, true legends of the international game; therefore, we are very proud to be able to work with Ian Bell in delivering fantastic coaching to the children at Crackley Hall School.  It was a superb session and we would like to thank Ian for his insight and fantastic coaching tips and also the Crackley Hall pupils, who showed real enthusiasm to develop their skills.”

Crackley Hall’s Assistant Head – Co-curricular, Charles Lamprecht said, “Huge thanks to Ian, Jamie and Sam from Complete Cricket for an inspirational masterclass.  The boys were thrilled to have a cricketing legend coaching them and I am really looking forward to seeing them put their new batting skills into action.”

On Wednesday 12 June Crackley’s Reception class enjoyed a first class day of animal antics at Twycross Zoo. This term the children have been discovering all about animals, so what better way to bring their learning to life than by immersing themselves fully in the animal world laid before them at the award-winning centre for conservation.

Accompanied by Mrs Whitehurst and Mrs Verma, along with parent helpers, the children spent the whole day exploring and encountering a host of fascinating creatures. The children saw pets, wild animals, sea creatures, wetland animals, butterflies and tropical birds. They got up close to the animals by walking with the lemurs, standing amongst the lorikeets, creeping through the Explorer Zone and stroking the goats.

On what was a cold and wet day the children's spirits could not be dampened, an enthusiastic Mrs Whitehurst noted, “We had an absolutely amazing time, the children were so excited, but also impeccably behaved. We have come back to school with our minds full of facts and there is an incredible buzz around the classroom.”

Incredible India was the topic for this week’s Geography lessons, organised by Crackley Hall Head of Geography and Year 5 teacher, Mrs Sarah Lammas. The J4s had a fascinating morning exploring this amazing country in an ‘India Experience’ workshop hosted by parents Mrs Mehta (mum to Jia and Aryan), Mrs Dhillon (mum to Kiran), Mrs Kaur (mum to Ajunee), Mrs Jaswal (mum to Rhomun and Summar) and Dr Hothi. They hosted our adventurous Junior 4 geographers in an amazing hands-on tour of the culture, food and history of this exciting country.

Beginning with some eye popping facts, Mrs Dhillon guided pupils around the geography of a land home to 1.3 billion people. She informed them of its 22 languages, its 29 states, its national emblem, the Bengal Tiger, its weather and famous buildings. Our junior explorers had plenty of interesting questions for our ‘expert’ mums, who were delighted to share their knowledge and love of the country. The hall was surely set out to surprise and delight, with tables laden with music, books, clothes and food. Keen to explore their senses the food on offer proved especially popular, as the bowls of exotic spices: cumin, coriander and fennel conjured up the familiar smells of Indian cuisine. Furthermore, the sugary jalebi dessert provided a perfectly sweet counterpoint to the aforementioned delights. Mrs Kaur, who is a regular visitor to India, brought some instruments from the sub-continent for all to try, much to the pleasure of the children. A new addition to Crackley's India experience was the chance for children to have a traditional henna design painted onto their hands. This was served as a final treat and lasting momento. 

Mrs Lammas, with her usual infectious passion for her subject, summed up her motivation for the event and the childrens' learning, “Immersion makes such memorable learning; it adds experience through one's senses, creating life long memories."

This successful event engaged everyone’s curiosity, the children picked up lots of interesting facts and information to take back into the classroom.  A huge thank you to Mrs Gill, Mrs Dhillon, Mrs Mehta, Mrs Kaur and Dr Hothi for giving so generously of their time and knowledge, it is very much appreciated!

On Saturday 8 June Crackley Hall once again took part in the Leamington Spa Competitive Festival of Speech and Drama.  Standards were high and there were a large number of entries from a number of schools.

The event took place at Dale Street Methodist Church and the children performed in front of an unfamiliar audience with commendable confidence and skill.  Their parents were clearly all extremely proud, as of course was Drama teacher, Nicola Wildey, who commented, “Crackley had its most successful results to date with 5 x 1st prizes, 2 x 2nds and 2 x 3rds. The competition was to a very high standard but the children absolutely smashed it.  They all did brilliantly not just the winners but also all those who gave up their Saturday and gave their very best.”

Highlights included:

Sebastian Lloyd-Evans 1st in the Under 10s Humorous Verse
Marley Hardwick 1st in Under 8s Verse and Prose
Cadie Hardwick 1st in Under 10s Verse and Prose
Francesca Kelly 1st in Under 13s Humorous Verse
Hannah Wildey 2nd in Under 13s Verse and Prose
Martha Summers 2nd in Under 10s Humorous Verse
Lily-Bryson and Elsie Roots 3rd in Under 8s Humorous Verse

Our Crackley Hall Players, the Acting Ensemble, Hannah Wildey, Amisha Modi, Cadie Hardwick, Jorja Parris and Martha Summers, also came first with their final performance of ‘Daisy Pulls It Off’ in the Group Acting Scene.  The girls were presented with a very grand trophy.

Mrs Wildey continued, “And there is more to come too as we’ve got more entrants this coming Saturday.”

Well done Crackley, what an amazing performance and the very best of luck to the children competing this weekend!

On Sunday 2 June a group of Crackley children, mainly Junior 5s, took part in the very first Junior Wolf Run. Set in the grounds of the striking Stanford Hall estate, Leicestershire, wild springs and dense woodland made this course both beautiful and challenging. Keen parents joined in as well on the tough 3km course, which the children then dragged them round for a second loop! They waded through muddy streams, leapt over hay bales, scrambled through tunnels and heaved themselves over walls, to finish in style with a swim in the lake! Junior 5s Alex, Soren, Henry, Alfie, Aaron, Louisa, Emily, Amy and Henry in Junior 4, all received their medals and goody bags as they crossed the finish line together, in true Wolf Pack style.

On Saturday 8 June we donned our wellies and raincoats and headed off to the Kenilworth Show on a typically British wet summer’s day!

This hugely popular annual event is always a great success, and although quiet to begin with, once the rain subsided the crowds came out, and we enjoyed chatting with lots of families.  We gave out what seemed like hundreds of balloons to our smaller visitors and enjoyed reminiscing with past pupils and parents of both Crackley Hall and Princethorpe College.

The show is a wonderful family and farming event which we are always delighted to take part in.

Let’s hope next year the weather will be kinder to us!

Crackley Hall School held a Charity Fundraising Day on Monday 10 June where the children, led by our Student Council, raised an incredible £1,142.00 for our nominated charity British Blind Sports. 

Thank you to those who supported their children in creating a stall for the event. The school was awash with colour, as a non-uniform day held concurrently ensured many, many pound coins rolled towards our terrific fund raising total.

The Student Council thanks everyone for their continued support and charitable donations. They are certain that everyone enjoyed a great day, whilst they raised lots of money for a very worthwhile cause.

We are pleased to announce that for the first time ever, holiday club will be running for the whole of the summer holidays. You can book either a morning (8.00am - 1.00pm) or afternoon (1.00pm - 6.00pm) session at a cost of £20.00 per child, or a whole day (8.00am - 6.00pm) at a cost of £30.00 per child. Hot lunches can be booked seperately or a packed lunch can be brought if preferred. 

Further details regarding what activities to expect each week will be sent home when available.

Please note that organising staff to run holiday club is a big job and we therefore ask that if you know you would like to use holiday club during the summer, that you book up as early as possible. We understand that changes do sometimes happen, and we will always try to accomodate you. However we are bound to strict adult to child ratios and staff availability during the summer is limited.

Booking is available at: https://princethorpecollege.parentseveningsystem.co.uk/ 

Mrs Holmes has asked if children can please bring in any old balls of wool that are no longer wanted and any old jewellery that is not needed.

Thank you