In March we launched our second annual Easter Egg Appeal which saw students and staff across the sites purchasing chocolate Easter eggs, big and small, and handing them in to our onsite donation points. The appeal gained lots of attention from students as they continued to demonstrate a great attitude towards almsgiving and outdid themselves with donations!
Come Community Day, more than 300 eggs were rounded up and hand delivered to the Demelza Hospice in Eltham. We were greeted by the amazing nursing staff who gladly helped to unload the special delivery and reminded us of the immeasurable impact that such gifts would have on the children they care for. We would like to thank all who contributed to this virtuous cause and also to think of the families affected by children suffering serious illness and would like to thank organizations like the Demelza Hospice for all the work that they do.
We were jubilant to finally have the ability to hold our cross-site Sports Day for our learners last week, which saw many of the sixth forms gifted athletes turn out to the sporting event, keen to claim the title of CTK Champions!
Events began at each site at 1:45pm with Badminton, Football and Table tennis taking place over at St Mary’s, Netball at Aquinas and Basketball hosted by Emmanuel. Once the coaches of students arrived at the relevant sport-hosted site, students were informed of the round-robin style set of rules and eagerly took to their sporting locations.
This was a wonderful opportunity for students from the pre-existing CTK Football, Basketball and Netball teams to come together and show off their skillsets.
The cross-site event also gave students the ability to converse and mingle with their fellow CTK learners.
So, which CTK campus was crowned the victors? After hours of sporting amusement, the scores were as such:
St Mary’s
Emmanuel
Aquinas
Basketball
15
10
5
Table Tennis
10
5
15
Football
10
15
10
Badminton
15
10
5
Netball
15
10
5
This means, with a total of 65 points the CTK Sports Day 2022 Winners are ….
St Mary’s!
We would like to say a huge congratulations to those at St Mary’s and a very well done to all for the skills, dedication and effort shown towards success!
The last day of the Spring term saw countless activities taking place across the three sites and all in celebration of Easter Community Day!
ECO: We were pleased to see students incorporating the sixth form’s Eco-friendly ideals into the Easter Community Day by involving themselves in various eco projects that day. One activity involved up-cycling used jam jars and other recyclable masonry to create tea-light lanterns. These were then hand painted, ready to be taken home and used as an eco-friendly alternative to an electric lamp.
In another mini-Eco Project, students took to the outdoors to hang bird boxes around the sixth form in the hopes of encouraging more bird wildlife on site. The students showed much enthusiasm as they painted and decorated the boxes before picking the perfect locations to hang the new bird homes.
Cultural: The Easter Community Day continued to be a success with plenty of cultural activities taking place across the sites. This included the likes
of henna hand painting and even live performances in the main hall with renditions of beautifully recited gospel songs. But it didn’t end there. The talent- showcasing continued in the LRC as tactical-minded students took on both peers and staff in a nail-biting chess tournament
Fundraising: The day saw multiple fundraising activities taking place and we couldn’t be more proud of our students for the initiative and generosity shown towards charity work. We were delighted to see students from the ALS department run a sweet stall that raised money for Demelza Hospice, a charity that we have worked with many times in the past supporting the work they do with the families of terminally ill children.
Another group of students raised money by putting on sporting tournaments whereby entrants would pay a small fee to gain access to the Sports Hall and go head-to-head with an opponent in games such as table tennis and badminton.
The list of activities was endless and both staff and students alike had great fun, raising over £500 for charity and fully immersing themselves in the spirit of the Easter Community Day! We would like to thank all staff and students for their commitment to making the day special and for all the hard work they have put in over the past term!
CTK Celebrates a month looking at the History the LGBT+ Community
We welcomed the celebration of LGBT+ History Month here at Christ the King this February with a variety of activities and displays which sought to illuminate some of the amazing actions members of the LGBT+ community have performed throughout history.
In the LRC (Learning Resource Centre) we have had wonderful displays installed detailing both prominent historical figures from the LGBT+ community as well as more recent individuals who have achieved something remarkable. Many people have found these displays incredibly interesting and thought provoking. An example of someone on the board was Nicola Adams, who was the first openly LGBT+ woman ever to win an Olympic gold medal in the boxing competition.
The LGBT+ Society, a student-led group acting as a safe and secure environment to talk about issues relating to the LGBT+ community, has also been discussing LGBT+ history, as well as the positive changes to civil rights in recent history and the landmark events that led to where we are now, including the 1969 ‘Stonewall Riots’ and origins of the Pride in England to name a few.
Our 10:10 reflection at the start of the month was also dedicated to LGBT+ history month, which emphasised the importance of respecting human identity, dignity and worth, and that whoever we are, our self-understanding can be affected by our past, present and future.
CTK is an establishment that reveres acceptance and respect, and we are delighted to be able to be able to shine a light on the importance of the LGBT+ community and the positive impact they have made in making our world a better place.
A week of Social Action activities take place across the CTK sites!
At Christ the King we are big proponents of social action in our communities and are regularly running events and activities for the benefit of charities in and around our local communities. Below are a few of the recent social action events that have been taking place across the CTK (Christ the King) sites.
Recently learners and staff were encouraged to wear expressive clothing in aid of “Dress to Express Day”, a day that aims to raise both money and awareness for the charity Young Minds, a charity that seeks to ensure all young people and their families receive mental health support, if they need it. This day raised over £350 for the charity and cannot wait to see this money put to good use.
In a similar vein, students also took part in “Onesie Day”, which saw learners attend their sixth form in all manner of humorous onesies. This event was run by the learners themselves and was in aid of Mindout, a charity focusing on improving the mental health of people in the LGBT+ community.
Learners also ran a heart-shaped lollypop stand in the canteen, with the profits going towards the charity Tender, a charity whose mission is to help young people who are the victims of domestic abuse. This was another charity selected by the learners. The total sales managed to raise a fantastic amount of £70 for the charity.
The grand total from these events was over £400, and we are so immensely proud of our learners for running events like these, whilst simultaneously committing to their studies. It demonstrates how deeply they care about social action and how much making a difference means to them.
We eagerly await the opportunity to inform you of more acts of charity and social action occurring around the sixth forms in the future.
Christ the King is proud to announce the launch of our Easter Appeal, a fundraiser seeking to raise both gifts and money towards two amazing charities, CAFOD and Demelza.
CAFOD (Catholic Aid for Overseas Development) is a Catholic organisation that aims to assist anyone in the world who requires aid. Demelza is a charity that assists families with young members suffering from terminal and very serious illnesses.
The appeal is set to run throughout lent and encompasses a variety of social action initiated by our learners, including a chocolate Easter egg appeal, a GoFundMe donation page and a milkshake stand amongst many more. We are honoured to be organising such an event and are excited to be able to update you once we have news on the status of the appeal.
If you would like to donate items or funds to the appeal, you can do so in a variety of ways:
If you would like to donate monetary funds, please follow the link which will take you to our GoFundMe page, where we are raising money for the two charities.
If you would like to donate chocolate eggs to the appeal, please bring them to either the chaplaincy, or the reception where they will be collected by the team.
We would like to take this moment to thank our fantastic chaplaincy team for organising the appeal and continuing to facilitate and run events throughout its course.
We are delighted to announce that progressing Christ the King Sixth Form Students students; Jason Bassock Leugoue, Lorena Piedrahita-Lopez and Aisling O’Hara have each been awarded scholarships with Metric Capital Partners to support them in their studies in Higher Education.
So far, twenty-one scholarships have been awarded to students at CTK by Metric Capital Partners and which gives them £15,000 each to support them in their studies. Metric Capital Partners are a capital fund management company and it is believed to be the first partnership of its kind between a college and a business.
John Sinik, the firm’s managing partner, was introduced to CTK by Seni Fawehinmi, whom he had met through a scheme designed to partner up deprived children with an adult mentor:
“When I first met Seni he was 10 years old,” John says. “His father had left, his brother had passed away from a blood disease and he was in a tough spot. We remain very close today.”
When Seni enrolled at CTK, he introduced his mentor to our principal. From this meeting, the Metric Capital scholarships were born, and since then three Metric scholarships are awarded every year – one to a student attending each of the three colleges that make up Christ the King Sixth Forms.
The students are selected according to academic performance and financial means-testing, before undergoing a formal interview. The relationship does not come to an end once the student heads off to university: they are required to update John each term about how well they are performing academically, and what they are spending the money on.
This is what the recipients have had to say about their scholarships:
Lorena Piedrahita-Lopez who will go on to study Psychology at the University of Cambridge – “It’s great to be awarded a scholarship that will help me to focus more of my time on my studies”.
Jason Bassock Leugoue who will go on to study Physiotherapy at the University of Essex – “I really appreciate that John and Metric Capital Partners have put their faith in me by awarding me this scholarship”.
Aisling O’Hara who will go on to study, Human Physiology/Biomedical Sciences at the University of Glasgow “I am so excited to go to uni and to be given a scholarship which will help me financially is going to be such a big help”.
CTK won the prestigious award for their Charity Christmas Gift Appeal, which raised over 1000 gifts and almost £6000 to help those in need.
The Christ the King Sixth Forms Christmas Gift Appeal has been acknowledged by the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) at their annual awards. The SFCA is the established voice of dedicated sixth form education and the hub of a national network of sixth form providers. The awards celebrates and showcases outstanding practise in education for 16 -19 year olds, through a range of categories. CTK were awarded the SFCA 2021 Community Impact Award, for making a special contribution to the wider community.
The Catholic Sixth Form group with sixth forms in areas of high deprivation, saw many staff, students, and their families disproportionally effected by COVID19. Wanting to do something special to help the local community, CTK launched a Christmas Gift Appeal, encouraging locals to buy Christmas presents or to make a donation towards helping a local disadvantaged child and giving the gift of joy at Christmas.
Students and staff worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the campaign and to generate donations from the public, local business and supermarkets. The Sixth Forms even held an art auction, with work donated by both staff and students, which raised over £1,000 for the appeal.
The campaign was a huge success, with over 1,000 gifts donated and almost £6,000 raised for three local charities, St Vincent de Paul Society, Lewisham Refuge and Demelza Hospice.
Shireen Razey, Principal of Christ the King Sixth Forms said: “We were delighted that CTK’s community work was acknowledged by the SFCA and we have been awarded the prestigious SFCA Award for Community Impact. Social action is an important part of the work our Sixth Form College does, and our students strive to make a real difference to the local community. Christ the King Sixth Forms work tirelessly to support charities and during Covid19 this has been more important than ever. It’s great that we were able to make such a difference to those that have experienced real hardship this year”.
CTK Wins SFCA Award coverage in the news
We are delighted that CTK winning a SFCA award has been featured in the media.
Outstanding A Level Chemistry and Physics Teacher, Dr Jose Bravo has been shortlisted for prestigious Times Education Award – Teacher of the Year. The online awards will take place on Friday 28 May 2021 at 8pm.
Christ the King Annual Staff conference – Staff Wellbeing
Helping our community live happier, healthier lives together
Christ the King Sixth Forms annual staff conference took place on 28th August with a focus on staff wellbeing. There has been a noticeable reminder in recent years of the importance of improving staff Wellbeing and this has been made even more apparent following the COVID-19 Pandemic. At Christ the King Sixth Forms we have had a real focus on Staff Wellbeing during the 19/20 academic year and this has resulted in a number of fundamental changes going forward. We hope you find the Wellbeing Conference insightful, informative and engaging at the start of the Autumn term.
We were thrilled to have a range of outstanding keynote speakers presenting at our conference. The conference opened with keynote speaker Chris Lubbe who told his inspirational story of his journey from Apartheid to Truth and Reconciliation. Chris said; “My purpose is to inspire positive change and to help others discover their own purpose. I believe that each of us has an in-built ability to make a positive contribution to the world”. Chris shared his own unique story of South Africa’s’ transition from ‘apartheid’ to a democracy. Born at a very difficult period in South Africa’s history, Chris made a decision early in his life to become an activist and to oppose the racially based system of ‘apartheid’. This decision was to put him on a direct collision course with the ‘apartheid’ regime which resulted in several spells of incarceration, torture and near-death experiences. After Nelson Mandela’s release in 1990 and the fall of ‘apartheid’, Chris worked with Nelson Mandela until his retirement as a bodyguard and also got involved in the delicate negotiations with the ‘apartheid regime’ resulting in subsequent agreement and the drafting of the new constitution. Apart from sharing his own personal story, Chris shared from the many important lessons and anecdotes that he learned from working with Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. The key themes from his message were determination, courage, perseverance, persistence and the power of forgiveness.
We were also joined by Chief Executive at Education Support Sinead McBrearty, who discussed the extensive work she is currently doing on the wellbeing and mental health of the whole education workforce.
Anne Lamb and Kendra Houseman shared their story of working with the most vulnerable students. Kendra has been involved with Gangs, Exploitation and CSE for over 28 years on many different levels. Originally from south west London, Kendra grew up with a complicated background living on an inner-city estate and that, and the contribution of a lack of communication and failings between adults in her growing up, are just some of the factors that lead to her having to make some life changing choices starting at the age of 11. These choices led to many consequences and created “Blondy” the name and person she was known as on the streets of south west London.
Kendra drove forward and she fought hard, which led to her breaking the difficult cycles encompassing her and she is now able to boast a degree in Health and Social Care and is currently studying a Master’s degree in Safeguarding. Kendra has worked in various settings, all with the same focus, supporting children and young people at risk of gangs and exploitation and working with professionals who work with these young people in managing their wellbeing. She developed Out of the Shadows delivering presentations and motivational talks, including real life case studies to practitioners, young people and parents/carers.
Anne trained in Restorative Practice in early 2016 and supported Margate Police’s weekly Restorative Clinics for a number of years. She developed a Family Liaison role across the Thanet Pupil Referral Units and worked closely and proactively with some of the most challenging students and families, many at the cusp of ‘gang’ involvement and some entrenched. Within Out of the Shadows she is delivering bespoke workshops to professionals and students to encourage a wider understanding and knowledge of the ‘less understood’ issues young people are facing. She helps professionals to manage their wellbeing when working with young people who are exposed to external influences.
Mike Armiger, our fourth speaker, is an experienced Mental Health Advisor and a former Head of Educational Provisions for young people affected by trauma, care experienced children and children with SEND and mental health needs. He also works with universities on models and approaches to student wellbeing. One of his main roles is that as a specialist advisor in relation to trauma and mental health. Mike also advises on creation of specialist care & education provisions, trains nationally and internationally and is the author of the Regulation framework- A whole school system and support planning framework for young people affected by trauma. This has now been adopted by health and education teams in 5 European countries.
The afternoon session will provided an opportunity for staff to attend two workshops and listen to our own CTK researchers as they present our fifth annual Teach Meet, where staff who have carried out independent research, shared their pedagogical reflections and research.
Chris Lubbe
Sinead McBrearty
Chief Executive at Education Support
Kendra Houseman
Founder of Out of the Shadows
Anne Lamb
Restorative Justice Professional
Mike Armiger
Education & Mental Health Advisor
CTK’s ‘Teach Meet’
2019-2020 Bursary Research Projects
As professional practitioners we are constantly searching for ways to improve and enhance our lessons in order to motivate students. At Christ the King Sixth Forms we have a number of forums where we share ideas and common areas of challenge with our colleagues.
This session provides us with a further opportunity to do so. A group of colleagues will share their findings. Each presentation will be approximately 5minutes.
This Teach Meet will enable us to continue to build on our approach to sharing ideas and research, to inspire and encourage us all in our profession.
Staff Member
Project
Isaac Whitcombe
Drawing and Thinking Critical: Thinking Through Drawing
Maya Stiasny
Race, ethnicity and inclusion: improving A-Level recruitment at Christ the King: Aquinas
Alison Murphy and Lesley Davis
Managing Student Behaviour
Shahada Hasan
Effectiveness and Implementation of a Wellbeing Programme
Josephine Okolo-Erokwu
Changing Landscape: Post 16 T Levels, Legislative Framework
