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Posted on March 15th 2019
Renaissance Day, Friday 15 March - Report and Pictures
One day each term we put aside the normal timetable and organise a special day of activities to build students ‘cultural capital’, wellbeing and develop aspiration. We call it Renaissance Day and it complements the usual curriculum with a host of engaging activities. Here's what happened on our latest Renaissance Day, Friday 15 March.
Year 7 - Health and Fitness
Year 7 took part in a Health and Fitness day of sporting activities at Kings College Sports Ground to promote the importance of activity and a healthy lifestyle. “Even the people who don’t usually play sports are getting involved, it’s great fun,” said Marlo.
"One of the best days ever," said Cosmo. "It was really fun competing against my friends," said Ibrahim.
Thank you to our Year 7 students and teachers for making the sessions so amazing. And the winning hub was.... Enterprise (pictured below). Congratulations to everyone for a great day.
Year 8 – Imperial War Museum and Kew Gardens
Year 8 enjoyed cultural experiences by visiting either the Imperial War Museum or Kew Gardens.
Yaseen, Year 8, writes: "In our separate groups, we discovered [Kew Garden's] varied features including the renowned Palm House. Inside we saw vegetation from different parts of the world, including the tropical rainforest ecosystem. The climate of the greenhouse was humid and the air was dense. We climbed the spiral staircase and at the top we identified the different layers and saw many plants, even endangered ones. The most spectacular plant I saw was the disease-fighting periwinkle. I learnt that this medicinal plant is used to treat cancer. I would recommend other schools to go and visit Kew Gardens to explore and expand their knowledge about the world and its natural characteristics. I’d like to thank the Humanities department for organising this fantastic day out!"
Vyshno, Year 8, writes: " I had never thought that I would enjoy a school trip to an oversized garden, but it turns out that I was wrong. My favourite parts were when we had to explore new different plants and write about them in our booklets that our group leaders had gave us to complete for positive Harris Points. I really liked when I had lunch with my friends from the other groups. I wish we stayed for longer as I had a lot of fun."
Year 9 - Relationship and Sex Education
As part of their relationships and sex education, Year 9 had workshops on topics including gender equality, STIs, domestic violence and sexting, the anatomy of sex and contraception.
Some of the sessions drew on the student’s prior knowledge from their science lessons, focusing on the anatomy of the reproductive system and contraception. Other sessions involved class debates and discussions centred around relationships. All students fully engaged with the day and behaved impeccably throughout.
- "It was a really enjoyable day. I learnt so much new information and now I feel better informed about these topics.” Dawda
- "We were able to have mature discussions and ask questions in an environment that we all felt comfortable in. It was a really interesting day and every session was useful." Jordy
Year 10 – Aspirations
Year 10 went to either Kingston or Goldsmith universities to help them prepare for leaving secondary school and raise their aspirations.
At Goldsmiths University (above) and Kingston University (below).
Others had special careers sessions at school to help them learn about different jobs (from YouTuber to automotive engineer, graphic design to architect) and the qualifications you need for each. Boys also had sessions on writing job applications and CVs. "It's a good way to find out what you want to do," said Michael. Pictured below: Marcus, Luke and Wilfred research different careers and the skills and qualifications needed.
We also ran sessions on topics such as personal safety, internet safety and 'county lines' working with experts including police officers Nsikan Etuk and Dan Short (pictured below).
Year 11 - Academic Excellence
Special English and Maths sessions were run for all Year 11 boys to help them gain the competitive edge in the classroom and prepare for their exams this summer.
Post-16 – Dragons’ Den
Our sixth formers developed their enterprise skills through a Dragon's Den-style event in which they had to devise a product or service to promote a healthy lifestyle. The boys had to create a product with a 'unique selling point', explain their target market and create an advert, before pitching their idea to our own panel of 'dragons', including Principal Peter Groves.
"It's a good way to develop our skills for co-operation, confidence and communication," said sixth former Guilherme. Cameron's team developed a vitamin juice drink to appeal to children, while another team created a 'virtual personal trainer' to deliver training plans online, and also do home deliveries of healthy food to complement the training regime.
Sixth formers Guilherme, Deiomte, Ediz and Ibrahim work as a team for our Dragon's Den-style enterprise session. Year 10 also took part in the Dragon's Den-style event.
Coming up with ideas for a new product or service to support a healthy lifestyle.
