Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
1
www.robertclack.co.uk
September 2015
Dear Parents/Carers,
We would like to thank all the students for the excellent start they have made to
the new academic year.
As a staff we are grateful to you as parents for the support we have received.
Keeping up to date with school life is helpful in ensuring effective
communication exists between the school and home. Please check the school
website www.robertclack.co.uk and the school newsletters for the latest news.
Can we also ask you to check each evening for letters home or permission forms
and to sign your child’s school planner on a weekly basis.
Your continued support with all of this is greatly appreciated.
Mr S Richardson
Deputy Headteacher
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
1
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
2
Dear Parent/Carer
All pupils in year 9 (upper school), 10 and 11 have been handed a letter
explaining that we use the services of two Relateen counsellors who are
employed by the school. If you do not wish your son/daughter to have access
to this facility please complete and return the attached slip on the letter as soon
as possible to Mrs Smith or Mrs Taylor in the Learning Mentors.
Thank you,
Mrs Smith
Learning Mentor
Looking back over the last academic year...looking
forward to this one…
It’s always a pleasure to reflect back on the successes of the school and Alumni
Association over the last academic year. Once again, dozens of former pupils
took the time to support the school and make current students’ time at Robert
Clack even more exciting and rewarding. The Robert Clack Development Trust
trustees, Development Officer and school staff have also worked hard to create
opportunities for our fantastic (and ever-increasing) alumni network to get
involved. Here’s just a snapshot of what our alumni and trustees have been up
to over the last academic year….

In October 2014, alumni once again took part in a hugely successful ‘Back
to School’ Week, coming in to the classroom to talk to current pupils
about their studies and careers. Kathryn Mason facilitated a Law master
class for all our budding lawyers. Alumni were also back in school to
attend an open evening for prospective students, speaking to parents and
children about their time at the school and their fantastic achievements
since leaving. The Development Trust met and an Alumni Association
newsletter was published.

In November, the Alumni Mentoring programme was launched with an
event to introduce alumni mentors to their Sixth Form mentees and share
ideas for successful mentoring – a session designed and delivered by
alumni Tina Dulieu, founder of Coaching Dynamics.

In December the Development Trust met and festive greetings were sent
out to members of our alumni database.

In January 2015 New Year greetings were sent to members of the alumni
database, and the Alumni Association were delighted to receive a
donation of £50,000 from the Ford Motor Company.
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
2
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
3

In January and February, alumni were back in the classroom to present in
Skills for Life lessons and alumni Charlie Edmunds drew on his skills as
a software engineer with Microsoft Xbox to launch a game development
project with year 10 students. An Alumni Association newsletter was also
published in February.

In March, year 12 economics students visited world leading international
banking group Standard Chartered in the City Of London – a trip arranged
through ‘alumni power’ via alumni and Development Trust trustee Michael
Jeffery. The Development Trust met and spring greetings were sent out
to members of our alumni database.

In April, Ford donation funded prizes were awarded at the Sixth Form
presentation evening to recognise effort and achievement in Science,
Technology, Maths and Engineering subjects. The Alumni Association
also awarded two actuary essay prizes of £250 funded by a donation from
the Worshipful Company of Actuaries.

In May, more alumni were back in school to award prizes at presentation
evenings and an Alumni Association newsletter was published.

In June, the Development Trust met and an Alumni Association/Ford
funded coach took year 10 students to Northampton University to take
part in a day of English literature lectures and workshops.

There were more alumni attended presentation evenings in July, and Ford
funded prizes awarded to year 10 scientists and mathematicians.

Throughout the summer term, the Alumni Association have used the
generous donation from Ford to send 37 pupils to university open days
at a variety of institutions including Liverpool, York, St Andrews and
Oxford. As well as funding a trip for the whole of year 12 to visit a UCAS
Exhibition at Queen Mary’s University in London which gave students
access to information and contacts from universities across the
country. Over the summer break, three students attended a residential
summer schools at the University of East Anglia to study law, chemistry
and pharmacy – all funded by Ford’s donation to the Alumni Association.
It was another busy and rewarding year for trustees, alumni and pupils, much
of which was made possible by the generous donation from Ford Motor
Company and of course, our fantastic former pupils who freely give up their time
to support the school. We are looking forward to developing the programme of
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
3
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
4
events for this academic year and welcoming even more former pupils back to
school.
Don’t forget if you or any family and friends are former students, sign up to
become a member of the official Robert Clack Alumni Association by following
the link below. We currently have 1027 members but we want more! You will
receive regular newsletters, invitations to come back to school to talk about
your career, and details of social events.
Be part of the future of Robert Clack School – sign up to the Alumni Association
TODAY! It’s free to join!
https://networks.futurefirst.org.uk/former-student/robertclack
PROVIDING INFORMATION TO 14-19 Careers Advice
Service
For pupils approaching or above 13, the school is required to pass on
information to 14-19 Careers Advice Service on request. This information
includes the name and address of the pupil and parent and any further
information relevant to the 14-19 Careers Advice Service role. The service
supports young people, helping them to achieve their potential and to realise
benefits from education and training. However parents or the pupil themselves,
if aged 16 or over, can ask that no information beyond name and address (for
pupil and parent) be passed to 14-19 Careers Advice Service. If as a parent or
as a pupil aged 16 or over, you do not want 14-19 Careers Advice Service to
receive from the school information beyond name and address, then please
contact the school within 28 days of receiving this notice. If you do not notify
the school that you wish to exercise your right to opt out after the 28 day period
has elapsed, information will be passed to 14-19 Careers Advice Service upon
request.
Year 9 MFL & History Competition
The MFL and History departments are organising an exciting cross-curricular
competition for our year 9 students.
This will be a fantastic opportunity for our students to showcase their language
skills along with their knowledge of an historical figure whom they have studied
in year 7 or year 8.
To enter the competition students will need to write a paragraph in French about
their historical figure entitled 'A day in the life of ...". The deadline is Friday 2nd
October and there will be prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. The winners will be
announced during the week before half term. Bonne chance!
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
4
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
5
#P A G E T U R N E R S
That breath-taking sentence.
That jaw-dropping twist.
That shattering ending.
Those characters that get under your skin.
Those books you can't put down.
Those stories that change you forever.
Those pageturners.
Welcome to the launch of the Year 10 Pageturners! As part of our Interform
Competition, Year 10 will be able to collect points for reviewing the books that
they read. There are 30 recommended books for everyone to enjoy.
Pageturners will collect a point for their form for EVERY SINGLE appropriate
review written and uploaded to Eclipse.
For those who read and review ALL 30 books –an extra 10 bonus points on top
of the usual 1 point each will be allocated. That’s 40 points per person up for
grabs!
Finally, look out for the featured reads and STAR reviews on the display board
in S Corridor.
It’s time to take the challenge Year 10! Which form will be victorious?
Year 10 and 11 Visit to Paris and the Opal Coast
The Modern Languages Department has organised a 5-day visit to Paris and the
Opal Coast to take place in July 2016.
This visit will enable students to see all the main sights in Paris and includes an
ascent of the Eiffel Tower, a river-boat cruise along the Seine and visits to NotreDame, the Arc de Triomphe, Sacré-Coeur, the Louvre, a chocolate factory and
the Astérix Theme Park, and much more besides.
After four days in Paris we move on to Boulogne for a visit to a market, a
hypermarket, a fish market and an evening of bowling.
Full details and application forms are available from the language office in the F
Block.
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
5
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
6
Duke of Edinburgh Award
Year 9 Bronze training sessions will be held at lower school each Thursday from
3.15pm in Lab Sc5.
The Year 10 Bronze Practice expedition will be held from Friday 25th September
to Sunday 27th September.
Bronze participants should meet every Wednesday evening at 3pm at the upper
school in labS5 for training.
The Year 11 Silver Practice expedition will be held from Friday 2nd October to
Sunday 4th October.
Silver participants should meet every Wednesday evening at 3pm at the upper
school in the PSHE room for training.
Year 12 Gold participants should meet at the lower school at 1.20pm every
Wednesday apart from those who have made alternative arrangements.
Mr Davison
Duke of Edinburgh co-ordinator
Music Department
The Music department would like to welcome back all students and
a very warm welcome to the new year 7s. We look forward to a great
school year full of amazing musical events. We would like to thank
and congratulate all of those who performed at the summer concert
in July. It was a huge success!
Instrumental Lessons
Instrumental lessons and ensembles are back up and running. Students who
are taking instrumental lessons in school are reminded to check their timetables
on the noticeboards in the music department and get permission from subject
teachers to attend. Practice books for recording these times and permissions
are available in the music department. If you have any issues or concerns
regarding your music lessons please see a member of the music department.
Timetables are unfortunately full at the moment but if you wish to start
instrumental lessons at school please give your name to a music teacher and
they will certainly put you on the waiting list.
Music Ensembles
Music ensembles are back rehearsing. All students are welcome to join an
ensemble. We love to see new faces and it doesn’t matter whether you’ve ever
sung in a choir before just come along and try it! We have lots of exciting
projects lined up for the coming year including the Christmas concert, concerts
in the Broadway theatre and other events within school. The rehearsal timetable
for all of the ensembles is below.
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
6
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
Ensemble
Wind Band
Mixed Choir
Strings Group
Girls’ Choir
Boys’ Choir
Orchestra
Day (lunchtime 12.451.15)
Monday
Tuesday
Tuesday
Thursday
Thursday
Friday
7
Site
Lower
Upper
Lower
Lower
Lower
Upper
Robert Clack Bible Discussion Group
The Bible Discussion group continues to meet this term in room C37 on
Wednesday Lunchtimes from 12.40 – 1.05pm. The group is open to all pupils on
the upper site. The aim of Bible Discussion Group is to give pupils the
opportunity to look at what the Bible has to say for themselves, discuss what
they find and ask questions if they would like to. Pupils are welcome to bring
their lunch to the group.
Last term we spent a few weeks looking at the key turning points in the overall
story of the Bible.
This term we will be taking an in depth look at the Book of Mark, one of the
earliest accounts of Jesus’ life, and exploring Jesus key question: ‘Who do you
say I am?’.
Please see Mr. Wells in the English Department if you would like to know more
about the group.
Senior Rugby
Senior rugby once again started long before the students even thought about
returning to school – players from Year 10 and 11 joined members of the Rugby
Academy over the summer holiday training three times a week. Though training
wasn’t compulsory attendance was good and often reached forty players.
Before the summer holiday had finished the Year 10 squad had travelled to
Stowe school for a pre-season tournament and just one day after the term had
started both the U15 and U18 squads travelled to Hampshire Collegiate School
to take part in pre-season tournaments. The U15s came second (out of six) in
their competition, ironically beating the eventual winners comfortably early in
the day and the U18s came third (also out of six).
For Clack the trip to Hampshire was very much about getting as many of the
lads playing as possible and rewarding the hard work of so many throughout
the summer. Year 11 boys Chris Warner, Brad Duff, James Nuamah, Josh
Adeyosoye, Germanas Vorobjovas, Charlie Baynham, Jermaine Darkwa, Seun
Idowu, Beni Menizan and Connor Brown all represented the U18 squad. This
was a big step for them as they were playing against boys much older and more
experienced than themselves. These lads in particular played superbly, never
taking a backward step and at no point did any of them look out of their depth.
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
7
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
8
In the process of winning three games and narrowly losing a fourth the boys’
contribution was exceptional; the only significant loss came against the
eventual winners who clearly had a different approach and were seeking to win
the tournament rather than develop younger players. Even so, the Clack lads
ran this side closer than anyone else all day. The pick of the Year 11s was James
Nuamah who was rewarded with Pupil of the Week in his first week back!
With the younger year groups producing bigger and better squads than ever
before the early indications are good that Senior rugby within the school may
well be strong for a number of years to come.
D Maudsley
Year 7 Netball
The Year 7 netball trials took place on Saturday and it was a
fantastic sight to see so many girls there (48 in total). I hope this
is a good sign for the netball season ahead! The PE department
look forward to seeing these girls commit to other extra-curricular
sports we offer.
Miss Higginson.
Sickness
It is a legal obligation that children of school age attend school regularly. If a
pupil is sick, the parent or guardian should telephone the school that
morning. He or she should be kept at home until well, and a note of explanation
sent to the Form Tutor on the day of return to school. If no telephone call has
been received by 9.30am on the first day of absence, the school’s Attendance
Officer will make contact to confirm the reasons for absence.
If a child falls ill in school, parents will be contacted to arrange for their child to
be collected and taken home. In the event of an accident requiring urgent
medical attention, an ambulance will be called and parents informed.
If your child has to leave school during the day for an appointment, please send
your child in to school on the day of the appointment, with a note stating the
time they need to leave school, along with the appointment card where possible.
Your child will then be able to obtain a pink slip which will release them from
their lesson.
How a pupil obtains a Pink slip
(To leave school during the day)
1. REGISTER in form.
2. Get note (not in planner) signed by Form Tutor.
3. Go to HOY for the note to be signed.
4. Go straight to the Attendance Office to collect a Pink slip.
All of the above must be completed during MORNING registration.
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
8
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
9
Homework and Safe Place Club 3-6pm every day in
the Information Centre, Green Lane
And now at Gosfield Road too!!!
We are pleased to inform you that we offer an exciting facility that enables your
child to come and complete homework, print off work, take a reading quiz and
return their library books. This is now also available at Gosfield Road for
students to complete coursework, homework, printing and revision.
All pupils at Green Lane can use the telephone
if they forgot to tell you that they are going to
attend. You can also contact us directly on
0208-270-6818 if you want to check that your
child is present, or to arrange a collection time.
If no pupils are on site after 5pm, we will close
the safe place.
Dates for your diary
Thurs 24th September
Open Evening for prospective pupils and
parents (school will close at 2pm to students on
this day to allow for preparation for the Open
Evening)
Mon 28th September
Robert Clack Association AGM, 6.45pm, Lower
School
Mon 9th November
Year 7 meet the Form Tutor evening (invitations
to be sent out nearer the time)
Sat 28th November
Table Top Sale, 10.00am-2.00pm, Upper School
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
9
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
10
Holiday Dates
Fri 23rd October 2015
Break up for half term
Mon 2nd November 2015
Return to School
Fri 18th December 2015
Break up for Christmas
Tue 5th January 2016
Return to School
Fri 12th February 2016
Break up for half term
Mon 22nd February 2016
Return to School
Thurs 24th March 2016
Break up for Easter
Mon 11th April 2016
Return to School
Mon 2nd May 2016
Bank Holiday
Fri 27th May 2016
Break up for half term
Mon 6th June 2016
Return to School
Fri 15th July 2016
Break up for summer
Robert Clack School of Science – Forti Difficile Nihil
10