The Chronicle

It was wonderful to see so many of our Crackley Hall School alumni being recognised at Princethorpe College’s recent Prize Giving. Their annual celebration of achievement took place in The Butterworth Hall at The University of Warwick on Friday 22 November.

No less than seven former pupils were awarded prizes receiving acclaim for outstanding academic or personal achievement and success.

• Chloe O’Carroll Bailey (Class of 2017) was presented with the Trudy Scott Award for determination and service to the school and in particular performing arts.
• Zara Simpson (Class of 2017) received two awards, the Edward MacFetridge Award for the highest achieving Linguist of the Year and in addition the Rotary Club Award for Service.
• Molly McGrory (Class of 2017) received the A-level Law Award for the highest achievement in Law.
• George Wild (Class of 2017) was presented with the Sr Alban Award for Public Speaking.
• Aryan and Jai Chima (both Class of 2017) in their absence were awarded the Matthew Jacoby Trophy for courage.
• Charlie Wilcox (Class of 2019) received the James McLeish Award for endeavour that resulted in commendable and noteworthy progress.

We were also delighted to see former pupils from the Classes of 2017 and 2019 being presented with their A-level and GCSE certificates respectively. Congratulations to them all on their well-deserved success. Their teachers here at Crackley Hall School applaud them.

Then not forgetting our very newest alumni, from the Class of 2024, who sang their hearts out in the Year 7 Chorus performing Pachelbel’s Canon Medley and the rather appropriate Best Day Of My Life.

Headmaster, Rob Duigan, was impressed, commenting, “I applaud all our former pupils, it was heartwarming to hear of their success at Princethorpe. Their achievements are inspiring for us all and no doubt a reflection of their dedication and determination. Their commitment and passion have paid off and I am confident they will go on to achieve even greater rewards. I wish them all the very best for the future.”

Click here to see the Prize Giving Programme.

Crackley took a team of ten Junior 5s to the ISA Midlands U10 Rugby Sevens Tournament at Market Bosworth RFC on Monday 2 December. The squad put on a great show, enjoying playing against teams from across the region. They remained unbeaten all day and were delighted to finish top of the table and be presented with the tournament trophy.

During the day, the boys played six games and scored over 30 tries. Led by Captain, William C, all ten players gave excellent accounts of themselves but impressively remained humble in victory. There was lots of learning for the young squad to take away but their success means they continue their unbeaten streak since they were U9s.

The team were awarded their Gold medals on Friday morning in Celebration Assembly. Well done team Crackley you should be proud of yourselves and huge thanks to all the supporters who attended on the day!

Many congratulations to Junior 1 pupil, Isher, who has been awarded first place in the 2024 Catholic Independent Schools Conference Christmas card competition. Isher was presented with his certificate by Mr Duigan in our Celebration Assembly today.

The theme for the competition this year was ‘Hope Renewed’ reflecting on the upcoming theme for the Catholic Church's Jubilee Year 2025. Isher's winning design featured a vibrant nativity scene with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in his manger.

Liana in Junior 4 and Josh in Junior 6 were both awarded Highly Commended for their entries in the competition and were also presented with their certificates this morning.

A super huge well done to them all.

Over the past month, Mr MoAshley, Mr MoDuigan (Jr) and Mr StedeMoford have been working hard to grow and maintain moustaches of varying styles. It’s been a long slog (mainly for observing loved ones and colleagues) but eventually, all three were able to achieve something to be proud of, in the spirit of raising money for an important charity that increases awareness of men’s health.

Please support Crackley Hall’s Mo-Bros by making a small donation towards Prostate Cancer UK, using the QR code in the photo. Any donation will be hugely appreciated and will go a long way to helping those in need.

Thank you for everyone’s support.

Last Friday 29 November, Charlotte P (J6) travelled to the London Olympic Pool, to compete in the ISA National Swimming Finals. Having won the Midlands freestyle event, Charlotte was part of the medley and freestyle relay teams, as well as competing individually.

Her first event was the medley relay, where she swam excellently to finish off a brilliant team performance, with the Midlands team finishing in fourth place. Her individual race came next and Charlotte was up with the leaders for much of the race, before finishing in an impressive fifth position – which means she is now one of the top five freestyle swimmers from independent schools across the country! Finally, the Midlands team competed impressively against many other quick teams and finished in sixth position in the freestyle relay.

We are all incredibly proud of Charlotte’s achievements. Her success story is one of hard work and perseverance, and we are all looking forward to seeing her continue along her swimming journey. Well done, Charlotte!

Last Saturday 30 November, Crackley Hall was transformed into a 'Winter Wonderland' for our annual PTA Christmas Fair. Families and friends were welcomed warmly for plenty of fabulous, festive fun.

There were games and craft galore for the children to enjoy as well as traditional tombolas and stalls and even our very own Crackley Christmas toy shop, Elfridges. Father Christmas and his elves made their usual stop off at the Fair, delighting children of all ages. The crowds enjoyed musical entertainment with a range of traditional melodies to get everyone in the Christmas spirit and in the hall families gathered to enjoy warming hot drinks and delicious mince pies.

Huge thanks to our wonderful PTA and to everyone who helped out or who came along to support us on the day. It was lovely to see so many people enjoying themselves and getting into the festive spirit.

Amanda Kelly from Princethorpe College visited on Tuesday morning to teach a group of pupils, from Junior 3 to Junior 6, the Our Father in sign language. Amanda, who is fully qualified in teaching sign, shared her knowledge, first teaching pupils the vowels and then leading on to the alphabet using their paper hand and pen hand (left and right hands). Pupils then watched and listened intently as Amanda went through the Our Father in sign. Amanda said, "It was a pleasure to see the children so eager to learn in such a warm and welcoming environment."

This morning, pupils showcased their knowledge during Celebration Assembly.

Crackley Hall's Choir and Choral Group came together last Friday evening, to deliver a delightful medley of magical Christmas carols and seasonal favourites at the Kenilworth Old Town's Lights switch-on. Fortunately, the weather remained dry, and the children enthusiastically performed their set list to the crowd's obvious delight. Their polished performance and rousing finish culminated in the traditional countdown.

Mrs. Olden expressed her joy, saying, "It was so good to see pupils and families enjoying the music, and this is always such a great way to start the Christmas preparations."

A big thank you to Mrs. Olden and her team for creating such a heart-warming start to Advent.

The Crackley Hall Junior Da Vinci programme encourages all pupils to be inspired to be the best that they can be. The Junior Da Vinci programme embraces three adapted principles - Creativity, Practice and Mastery - that the children demonstrate in their learning.

This year we are ensuring that all pupils in the school have opportunities to achieve Junior Da Vinci awards. The Da Vinci leaflet gives more information about this programme. 

We have moved away from termly and half termly JDV challenges and are using a monthly theme to suggest activities to challenge and interest pupils. Each month different activities will be suggested. Pupils do not have to complete all, or any of these activities. They are available to all pupils in all years, so pupils can choose to investigate something that they are interested in. Bring any examples of activities that have been completed to Mrs Cowlishaw to share with the whole school.

This is the December Challenge

Look out for news of the children achieving Junior Da Vinci's in the Awards section of the Chronicle over the year.