Creative and Performing Arts Transition Workshop

On Wednesday we held a Creative and Performing Arts Transition Workshop for our new Year 7 students, welcoming over 70 children. It was wonderful to see the students transform from feeling nervous and quiet to relaxed and vocal. The event helped our new students build confidence, make new friends, and start their journey at Orchard Park with excitement and positivity. Thank you to Ms Palmieri, Ms Pain, Ms Ruby, Mr Sahl-Taylor and Ms Maddox for supporting our future students.

A Level masterclasses

16 of our Year 10 students spent an afternoon at St Dunstan's College, in Catford. We have a special partnership with this school: they are keen to offer bursaries and scholarships to our high performing students at A Levels. Our pupils attended A Level masterclasses in different subjects designed to give them a taste of studying A Levels at St Dunstan's. They were also taught about the application process and entry requirements. We will be running preparation classes to support the students interested in applying. Thank you to Mr Clarke for facilitating the afternoon.

Visit to Crystal Palace Football Club

Yesterday, Ms Turner and Ms Friday took a group of our talented students to play on the pitch at Selhurst Park, the home of Crystal Palace Football Club. Students took to the field and received an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium, including the players’ changing rooms, tunnel, and dugout. A huge well done to Evie, Kelly, Keyanna, Lily, Micah, Jacob, Godwin and Tommy – you represented the school brilliantly. A special thanks to The Palace For Life Foundation Team for making this opportunity possible. We will be working very closely with them during the next academic year.

Year 11 revision

May half term revision school for Year 11 will take place next week. A schedule will be sent out to all year 11 families. A huge thank you, again, to the wonderful staff who give up part of their half term break to revise with our students.

Reminder

Finally, a reminder: energy drinks are banned from school. They contain high levels of caffeine and sugar that can negatively impact students’ ability to focus. These drinks often lead to restlessness, difficulty concentrating, and energy crashes later in the day which makes learning more difficult for the student. Please talk to your child about this. We also ask for your support in ensuring that students come to school with a bottle of water for the day to support their well-being and academic success. Energy drinks will be confiscated and will not be returned to students.

Enjoy the Crystal Palace FA Cup Victory Parade on Monday should you be attending. We return from the half term break on Monday 2nd June at the normal time.

Ms C Moran, Headteacher