Information and Communications Technology (ICT) students from
CTK were given the chance to spend an amazing day at the central offices in
London of BNYMellon to learn how to Design an App in a Day.
The Design an App in a Day workshop took key elements from the
Apps for Good course, guiding pupils through an interactive development model
where they began with an idea and ended with a pitch, outlining their final
prototype. Students had the opportunity to hear from BNY Mellon volunteers
about a real-world challenge and then had the opportunity to come up with a
tech solution. Students explored user needs and features, market research and
user profiling before finally, creating drawn wireframes of their app ideas and
pitching them back to the class and volunteers. Collaborative working, problem
solving and communication skills were are all encouraged and developed during
this innovative workshop.
Many students afterwards described the day as being the most
productive workshop of their studies so far!
Fourteen CTK students were delighted to recently take part in a
corporate mentoring programme with Capgemini and Urban Synergy. Over a
number of weeks the programme helped to develop their wider skills as well as
offering them an opportunity to gain experience which could lead onto a Degree
Apprenticeship.
Capgemini is a global leader in
consulting, technology services and digital transformation and is at the
forefront of innovation to take advantage of opportunities in the evolving
world of cloud, digital and platforms.
Urban Synergy is an award winning
mentoring charity that has helped hundreds of young people between 11 and 18
years of age reach their full potential through outcome focused mentoring
programmes and have supported many CTK students in the past.
A highlight of the programme for students was
meeting Christine Hodgson during the least session. Christine is
the Chairwoman of Capgemini UK plc and the Careers & Enterprise
Company.
Students and staff at Christ the King Sixth Form celebrated
another year of excellent examination success at all three sites. As a
dedicated specialist sixth form, Christ the King offers a wide range of BTEC
courses available to talented and ambitious students.
Christ the King students, across sites in Sidcup, Brockley and
Lewisham were delighted with their results, which exceeded national benchmarks
once again and will be progressing to universities across the country or into
apprenticeship or employment opportunities.
Co Collegiate Principal Shireen Razey, said “The high volume of
students achieving BTEC qualifications at Christ the King makes all of us
associated with CTK very proud. Progression onto prestigious universities and
employment opportunities can be truly life changing and it gives us great satisfaction
to see our students benefit from such destinations. We wish each of our
students every future success”.
Students who studied BTEC programmes achieved outstanding grades,
with many going on to study at Russell Group Universities. Christ the King
has been at the forefront of delivering the new rigorous externally
examined BTEC courses. Students have gained places at prestigious
universities to study a range of competitive courses, which in the past were
often only open to A Level students.
A number of BTEC Applied Science students gained competitive
places at Warwick University. Intissar Ahmed achieved D*D* D and will study Bio
Medicine, Ajikh Karunakaran achieved D*D*D*and will study Biomedical
Science. He said’ I’m so happy with my result! Christ the King improves
you not only academically, but as a whole person’. Waquas Rai also gained
top grades D*D*D* and will also be studying Biomedical Science.
BTEC Health and Social Care students saw great success, securing
places on competitive courses. Andreea Dobieschi studied BTEC Health and
Social Care, achieving the highest grades possible D*D*D. She is going to study
Psychology at Kent University. She was delighted with her grades and
said; ‘Christ the King has given me confidence in my academic ability, my smile
today says everything you need to know!”. Melaine Sodje achieved D*D*D in BTEC
Health and Social Care and is off to Kings College, London to study Adult
Nursing. She said’ Christ the King built my confidence up. The teachers
push you to the best of your ability’. Ronna Kay Gorden studied Health
& Social Care and gained D*DD, she will be going to St George’s University
to study Diagnostic Radiography. She said; ‘The teachers have been very
supportive and pushed me to give my best’.
With so many reasons to celebrate, the class of 2019 can now begin
the next stage of their education life journey.
This week, three Christ the King sixth form students have been
awarded a scholarship from Private capital fund management firm, Metric Capital
worth £15,000 each.
Each successful student was carefully selected according to their
academic performance and formal interview process. Christ the King
students Veronica Marafini, who hopes to study Translation and Interpreting
with Modern Languages at the University of East Anglia, Kafilat Alogba who
hopes to study Law and Sociology at the University of Warwick and Chanin Peart
who hopes to study Business Management at the University of Westminster, all
successfully received a scholarship worth £15,000 over the course of their University
degree.
The Metric Capital scholarship programme with Christ the King is
in its eighth year and to date has awarded £300,000 in scholarships to
hardworking, ambitious Christ the King students. Metric Capital, worked
in conjunction with Our Turn Global, a charitable organisation that uses social
media to raise awareness about initiatives that have a positive impact on
society to award the scholarship.
The scheme is led by Metric Capital’s Managing Partner, John
Sinik. John was first introduced to Christ the King by one of his
mentees, and he was inspired to create the Metric Scholarship Programme after
meeting high performing, aspirational students at Christ the King, who dreamt
of going on to University, but couldn’t afford it.
Metric Capital Managing Partner John Sinik says: “Tuition
fees are only a part of the expense of going to University. There are living
expenses that can be overwhelming for people and ultimately drive their
decision not to go. The scholarship plays a key role in allowing the
students to pursue their dream of obtaining a University degree”.
Collegiate Principal Shireen Razey says: “We are
delighted to continue working in partnership with Metric Capital with this
fantastic venture. We are so proud of our hardworking students at Christ the
King and it is a great opportunity to support them in their university
aspirations.”
This month, we held the Christ the King Evening of Celebration at
all three sites. Our annual Evening of Celebration provides our students with
the opportunity to reflect on the friendships, knowledge and skills that they
have developed whilst studying at Christ the King. The event allows us to
honour all their hard work and academic and extra-curricular achievements.
CEO of Dynamic Planner, Ben Goss spoke with great eloquence about
the skillset he has developed that has allowed him to excel in his career. Ben
is former Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He is also a previous
winner of the Deloitte UK Fast 50 – an award that recognises the 50 fastest
growing UK tech companies. In 2017, Ben wrote ‘Catching the FinTech Wave’ – a
guide to adopting FinTech and transforming financial planning firms.
It was a great privilege to have all our guest speakers join us in
celebrating the achievements of our students and Christ the King would like to
extend its sincere thanks to them all for taking time out of their busy
schedules to honour the occasion. The College would also like to commend all of
the 2019 leavers on their tenacity and hard work and looks forward to welcoming
them back on results day in August 2019.
On Thursday 20th June, Miss Orlowski, Ms
Tapper and Mrs Geisler took a selection of Lower A level Psychology students to
London Zoo.
Whilst there, the students took part in an observational
behaviour study using squirrel monkeys. They were able to track the monkeys and
record their behaviour using time sampling on iPads.
This links in with the Research Methods module of their
course, but they were also able to strengthen their knowledge of Biopsychology
and other modules through discussion in the seminar. Students also had time to
explore the zoo and learn about the animals there. It was a great day!
Over 800 students from the three Christ the King
sites in South East London took part in supporting their local communities,
across London.
Students took part in activities such as
helping feed the homeless at Brixton soup kitchen and taking part in the pay it
forward initiative, helping to support the homeless at Second Shot Coffee in
Bethnal Green. Students from Christ the King St Mary’s in Sidcup, Aquinas in
Brockley and Emmanuel in Lewisham, gave their time to help out at foodbanks in
Greenwich, Eltham and Lewisham and visited a care home in Deptford to take part
in activities with the residents. Students also worked in ‘The Charity Shop’ in
Sidcup, which raises funds for the Canterbury Oast Trust, which supports people
with learning disabilities in education and work.
The Christ the King motto is ‘Ut Vitam Habeant’
which means ‘that they may have life’ and every student in encouraged to
develop as a whole person and to be actively involved in both the college and
in their local community.
This year students have taken part in a number of
charity events. They have donated goods and volunteered time at local food
banks, taken part in sponsored walks to raise money for Second Shot coffee. At
Christmas, Christ the King students created Christmas boxes, filling them with
goods to donate to the Samaritan’s ‘Operation Christmas Child’ appeal’.
At Easter, students created Easter baskets, filled with treats and messages of
hope for the children of local Delmelza hospice, and refugee children, who have
no access to benefits, through the Revive charity.
Although the initiative is called
Acts of Charity, it is not only about charity work. Christ the King
students also actively get involved in community work. Christ the King
students have taken part in litter collections in local parks, worked in care
homes and primary schools and got involved in recruiting new shops to join
Lewisham’s water bottle refilling scheme, which allows people to refill plastic
water bottles on their premises to reduce plastic waste.
Co-Collegiate Principal Rob McAuliffe said “At
Christ the King we aim for all of our students to develop into young people
that will go on to make a positive contribution to society, and the charity and
community work, is an important part of this. Helping the local community
helps our students to make a positive contribution to their area they live and
study in. Students find getting involved in the activities really
rewarding, as well as building confidence, team building and leadership skills,
which they will use to help them as they progress onto University or
employment”.
Last week of June students of
Spanish from CTK St. Mary´s and Emmanuel traveled to Seville, Spain. This was
an opportunity to support them in their academic studies but also to increase
their cultural appreciation in a city where Muslims, Christians and Jews left
their marks.
Upon arrival, they enjoyed a night
of tapas in the busy streets of Seville. Next morning, they headed to Parque
Maria Luisa to explore the beautiful gardens and buildings that hosted the
Ibero-American Exposition of 1929.
Our students participated in a gymkhana contest.
Congratulations to the winners!!
At lunch time we visited the
Mercado de Abastos to cook our own paella and after some well deserved break we
attended a student exchange in Centro Mundo Lengua. Our students had the
opportunity to put their Spanish to the test and make some new friends while
practicing the language.
On Tuesday, they visited the
amazing Royal Alcázar Palace with its gardens, the Cathedral and the
astonishing Giralda, the bell tower from which top they could see Seville from
a bird´s eye view. In the afternoon, they joined a flamenco class and continued
with a flamenco live show in an 18th century sevillian palace.
On
Friday, they enjoyed a guided tour through the Sevilla Mudéjar, the
architectural pos-Islamic style that remained in Spain after the Christian
reconquest. Our final stop was the Baroque Revival church of La Macarena
that gives name to many Sevillian girls and to a very famous song.
Over the last few months, 5 of our Level 2 BTEC Business
Studies students have been competing in the Big Idea Challenge. In February,
the boys went up against their fellow classmates, pitching their business idea
“Enough is Enough”.
They won the first stage of the competition here at the
college and were progressed to the finals. They have since visited the Natwest
office in the city to refine their idea with their mentor and have had their
pitch professionally recorded. Next month they will be attending the grand
finale ceremony in Mayfair and need your help to win the People’s Choice
Awards. Simply click on the link, watch their pitch and vote for “Enough
is Enough”! http://bit.ly/2I5DlQt
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The Minister of
State for Apprenticeships and Skills, Anne Milton MP, visited Christ the King:
Emmanuel on Thursday 9 May, to look at the work Christ the King is doing as
part of the Centres for Excellence in Maths programme.
Christ the King
was one of 21 national centres chosen from across England by the Department for
Education for the programme.
Centres
for Excellence in Maths is a national programme funded by the Department for
Education (DfE) and managed on its behalf by the Education and Training
Foundation (ETF) with a range of delivery partners, including the Association
of Colleges. The programme aims to deliver a step change in maths
teaching up to Level 2 in post-16 settings to help increase the number of young
people leaving compulsory education with basic maths skills, up to GCSE and
equivalent level. The ultimate aim is to help improve their employability and
engage with further learning.
Centres
were selected as Centres for Excellence in Maths, as organisations with the
commitment, capacity and system leadership skills required to drive innovation
and improvement in both their institution and beyond. Christ the King has
a history of being a research driven College, having taken part in schemes such
as the Mayor of London’s London Schools Excellence Fund (LSEF).
As part of
the project, Christ the King runs networking meetings with other local schools
and colleges, takes part in evidence gathering, training and development and
has access to support and challenge. The aims of the network meetings are
to share best practice and develop teaching approaches which focus on teaching
maths to students up to level 2.
Anne
Milton visited the Emmanuel site in South East London and met with senior
management, governors, ETF representatives, teaching staff and students.
She visited maths teaching classrooms to see the teaching approaches in action.
Apprenticeships
and Skills Minister, Anne Milton said; “Maths is vital for work and
everyday life and we know that achieving a good level in maths
increases your chances
of getting a job, an apprenticeship or progressing to further and higher
education. So it was fantastic
to see our Centres for Excellence in Maths programme up and running
at Christ the King Sixth Form College and helping arm students with the
knowledge they need to progress. It was a pleasure to meet with the staff
and students today and I look forward to hearing more about the progress they
continue to make.”
Shireen
Razey, Christ the King Co-Collegiate Principal and lead for the Maths Centre
for excellence said;
“Christ
the King were delighted to welcome Anne Milton to the College today. It
was great opportunity for us to discuss the work we are spearheading, as a
Maths Centre for Excellence. Christ the King are proud to have been
selected as a Maths Centre for Excellence from such a large number of
institutions nationally and feel the project is invaluable in driving
innovation and in helping Maths students improve their outcomes in London and
the South East”.
Paul
Kessell-Holland, Director of Insights at the ETF, said, “The opportunity to
re-engage young people with maths learning up to level 2 through the
programme’s research and evidence is nationally important. The Centres
including Christ the King, the ETF and our expert partners are working together
to make sure the opportunity is taken full advantage of for learners now and in
the future.
“Delivering
evidence-based practice and innovation, through sector-inclusive programmes
like Centres for Excellence in Maths, supports the workforce development aim
that the ETF is founded on.”
The University of Northampton Yellow Bus Tour recently
visited all three CTK sites.
Students were given the opportunity to climb on board for
interactive sessions on university applications with their Schools Liaison
team. There was also the opportunity to speak to current Northampton
undergraduates about their own experiences since joining the university.
The Tour was supported by a number of on air and online
platforms as well as it being documented on social media.
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) students
from CTK were given the chance to spend an amazing day at the central offices
in London of BNYMellon to learn how to Design an App in a Day.
The Design an App in a Day workshop took key elements from
the Apps for Good course, guiding pupils through an interactive development
model where they began with an idea and ended with a pitch, outlining their
final prototype. Students had the opportunity to hear from BNY Mellon
volunteers about a real-world challenge and then had the opportunity to come up
with a tech solution. Students explored user needs and features, market
research and user profiling before finally, creating drawn wireframes of their
app ideas and pitching them back to the class and volunteers. Collaborative
working, problem solving and communication skills were are all encouraged and
developed during this innovative workshop.
Many students afterwards described the day as being the most
productive workshop of their studies so far!
A member of staff was keen that the community at Christ The
King made a pilgrimage to Medjugorje. A group of sixteen staff and students set
off just before Easter.
They quickly settled into the prayerful routine of the place
which is in Bosnia Herzegovinia. Christine the guide who accompanied the
group up Apparition Hill carefully explained the history of the place from when
our lady first appeared at Medjugorje in 1981 at which the country was
under the reign of Communism. Fr Leon who is the English chaplain and who
has visited Woolwich talked to the group of his own religious experience Visits
were also made to Mary TV, Mostar and Cross Mountain. Personal experiences
included the ineffable quality of the music at international services, the
smell of the roses, and the meaningful conversations end encounters that
occurred.
Our Lady asks pilgrims to promote Medjugorge as the spiritual centre of the world and that we carry out the following; read the Bible, go to confession, receive the Eucharist, fast of Wednesdays and Fridays and say the rosary. To help us remember we can carry five small stones from Medjugorge. The community at Christ the King offers an annual pilgrimage as part of its Catholic life programme. This pilgrimage to was exceptional because of its uniqueness. Everyone in the group returned home a little bit changed for the better and would recommend to all. It was perfect in every way. You will not be disappointed.
On a beautifully sunny day last Wednesday, Christ the King
Sixth Form held its much anticipated annual Sports Day with events taking place
across all 3 sites.
The competition between students was there for all to see
but the gracefulness and comradery which shone through is something they all
should be proud of.
On the football pitch, it was St Mary’s who ran out winners
after achieving a hard fought 1-0 victory over Emmanuel with everyone getting
the chance to be involved in the match and all enjoyed themselves.
Heading inside, onto the basketball court, a rivalry had
been building over the past few months during the basketball season. Emmanuel
had taken the early bragging rights but the St Mary’s team had come roaring
back in recent weeks. It all came down to the final opportunity on Sports Day.
With the Aquinas team added to the mix, it was sure to be an afternoon to
remember. And so, with St Mary’s coming through victorious against both
Emmanuel and Aquinas, they were crowned champions. With Aquinas pulling off a
fantastic win against Emmanuel, they took a well-deserved second place, leaving
Emmanuel third.
Netball and Futsal were both held at Aquinas, and it was
Emmanuel who came away winning both events. The futsal was very competitive, as
expected, with Emmanuel beating Aquinas 13-5 to claim maximum points.
Both Table Tennis and Badminton took place in the St Mary’s
sports hall and it was a real hive of activity. Some very good talent was put
on show with a lot of exciting matches taking place. In the end, a very skilful
Aquinas team took the honours in the table tennis with Emmanuel pulling through
against tough opposition in the badminton.
The new event this year ‘Mini Olympics’ proved to be a hit
and was well enjoyed by all who took part. Events such as standing long jump,
bean bag throwing, soft javelin throw and fun relay races took place with
Emmanuel taking the gold ahead of St Mary’s in the male competition and Aquinas
winning the female competition.
The ‘Gym Challenge’ ended up being very closely contested
with the will to win being shown in abundance. Strength, flexibility, endurance
and aerobic testing are all elements of the challenge and each competitor
showed immense grit and determination in each. It was St Mary’s who scraped it
in the end ahead of Emmanuel.
Overall, congratulations go to Emmanuel who triumphed on the
day ending with 190 points followed by St Mary’s on 170 points and Aquinas with
a respectable 140 points. Everyone who took part enjoyed the day and we look
forward to a fresh competition next year.
First year photography and graphics students from Emmanuel
attended a workshop at Autograph Gallery in Shoreditch earlier this month.
After photographing some of the sights around Brick Lane, we went to
Autograph – a gallery whose mission statement is ‘to share the work of
artists who use photography and film to highlight issues of identity,
representation, human rights and social justice’. In response to the exhibition
by Phoebe Boswell, students made collaborative drawings and a sound piece using
their mobile phones in the workshop. The drawings were then hung up outside in
a space chosen by each group.
Health & Social care students at Christ the King:
Emmanuel and Christ the King: Aquinas met on Wednesday 3rd April 2019 at the
Aquinas site for the Health & Social Care Conference.
A range of Health & Social Care professionals presented and the theme of the Conference was centred around the Unit 2 Working in Health & Social Care exam and a number of synoptic modules such as Anatomy and physiology, human lifespan development and Meeting individual needs. Speakers in attendance were a midwife, social worker, paediatric nurse, Intensive care and oncology nurse and occupational therapist.
Christ the King Emmanuel was delighted to recently host a talk
by Sir Ian Cheshire who is the Chairman of Barclays UK.
Ian talked to almost one hundred of our students about growing up in
Nigeria and the academic challenges he faced when studying before achieving a
degree in Law from Christ’s College, Cambridge.
Ian spoke to students about his current role as Chairman of Barclays
UK as well as his previous roles at Kingfisher and Debenhams. He also spoke
about the various charitable roles he has including Campaign Chairman of Heads
Together which is the mental health initiative spearheaded by The Royal
Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of
Sussex.
The key message he had for students was that there are lots of
opportunities out there if they are willing to grasp them and he suggested that
there are fantastic opportunities on the fraud prevention and innovations sides
of the financial industry.
A huge congratulations to both our Emmanuel and St Mary’s basketball
teams now that we have come to the end of the season. The St Mary’s team came
in an impressive 2nd place and the Emmanuel team joint 3rd.
The season ran over a number of tournament events which all
cumulated in a final league table. There was strong opposition in the league
including Knights Academy, Folkestone Academy, LSEC Bromley and Colfe’s School.
The St Mary’s team started the season slowly, only winning 3 games over
the first 2 tournaments. The team never gave up though, winning the tournament
held at CTK Emmanuel and then winning 3 games at the final tournament. The
Emmanuel team reversed the pattern shown by the St Mary’s team, getting off to
a quick start in the first 2 tournaments (winning at CTK St Mary’s) but then
only picked up 2 wins from the final 2 tournaments. The season ended with a
one-off ‘cup’ tournament against some very strong opposition. Only group
winners made it to the final and, unfortunately, both teams came 3rd.
Still a great effort from both teams and everyone enjoyed the afternoon.
Well done to all squad members from both teams who took part this season
and we look forward to the showdown at this year’s Sports Day.
CTK Students: Motasem, Royann and Jayden
pictured above, recently attended the Evening of Celebration for Jack Petchey
Achievements Award winners at the Broadway Theatre in Catford organised by the
Jack Petchey Foundation.
They alongside many young people in
schools and colleges were recipients of medallions that recognised their
personal achievements in terms of character, overcoming challenges, being role
models and making a difference in their local community.
For example, Motasem has faced various
personal challenges alongside his studies, but has consistently worked hard to
stay committed.
Motasem is a dedicated member of the
school’s weekly boxing class and decided to spend his £250 award money on new
equipment for all at the boxing class.
Motasem said: “I was so happy to receive
the award because it made my family proud. I was pleased that I could ask for
the grant award to be spent on buying boxing bags for our college boxing club
to benefit all the students.
“As a keen boxer myself I can’t wait to
use them. Thank you Jack Petchey and thank you to my teachers and fellow
students who nominated me for this award.”
Congratulations to them and we continue to recognise future award winners from our college community through the support of the Jack Petchey Achievement Award scheme.
The Careers Conference at Christ the King Sixth Form: Emmanuel
continues to go from strength to strength.
The cross-site event comprises a variety of university and career based
talks as well as a large-scale exhibition. The day provides a fantastic
opportunity for our Level 3 students to start thinking about their future
and to explore their options. As in previous years, a Level 1 & 2 Careers
Conference was held which offered specific support to students studying a BTEC
Level 1 or 2 course.
Students prepare for the Conference by pre-booking their places for the
talks they wish to attend and individual timetables are created which
include a visit to the exhibition, thus ensuring their time spent at the
Conference is focused and productive.
Almost 100 external organisations supported the Conference by either
exhibiting or providing speakers for the talks. Many of the
participants were returning, having attended the event in previous years.
The programme of talks included sessions on a wide range of careers from
Medicine and the NHS to entrepreneurship, journalism, engineering, banking and
many more.
During the last week of February, a group of students from Aquinas and
Emmanuel took part in a retreat at the Kintbury retreat house. Along with
students from St Charles 6thform, they spent 3 days examining who
they were as a person, searching deep their own relationship with God
surrounded by the beautifully picturesque Berkshire countryside. Hosted and
facilitated by the excellent Kintbury volunteers, the students had a truly
fantastic experience. As one attendee said
“I think it was amazing. It was a chance to relax and take a break from
your life outside of the retreat. It gave me an opportunity to make friends and
meet amazing people.“
Recently A level Economics students from Emmanuel and St Mary’s combined
to take part in the inaugural A’ level Economics conference.
Students were treated to talks from speakers from Greenwich University,
EzyEducation, Barclays and BT covering topics such as market structures and
studying. Economics at university. We are grateful to the support from our
external speakers who included CTK alumni. Student feedback on the day was
overwhelmingly positive.
On the 2nd March 2019,
25 CTK students from across all three sites attended the Flame 4 Congress in
London.
They however were not just there to
witness the testimony of several amazing speakers and participate in the
worship and other activities that the day had to offer, but also to perform
with several other choirs from across South London in a group performance that
proved to be one of the highlights of the day.
The Flame Congress is a biennial
event taking place at Wembley’s SSE Arena, organised by the Catholic Youth
Ministry Federation. It continues to be the largest regular gathering of young
Catholics in England and Wales. Since it started in 2012, CTK has sent regular
groups of students to the event, all of whom were inspired by the experience.
The theme of this congress was significance. Throughout the day, the young people involved had the opportunity to listen to some amazing speakers, including Robert Madu and Archbishop Eamon Martins, talk to fellow young people from across the country, and participate in worship and adoration. There were also spellbinding performances from Guvna B, Rise Theatre and Anglican worship leader Tim Hughes.
This most recent occasion was the first time they were given an opportunity to take part in the proceedings, an opportunity they embraced as they performed two songs, Stormzy’s Blinded by your Grace, and the classic Amazing Grace. For those of us who had the pleasure of attending with them, it was a profound and joyous experience, which will be looked forward to in future years.
Christ the King Emmanuel is proud to host the F Word exhibition.
The Forgiveness Project collects and shares stories from individuals and
communities who have rebuilt their lives following hurt and trauma and has been
showcased internationally.
Founded in 2004 by journalist, Marina Cantacuzino, The Forgiveness
Project provides resources and experiences to help people examine and overcome
their own unresolved grievances. The testimonies we collect bear witness to the
resilience of the human spirit and act as a powerful antidote to narratives of
hate and dehumanisation, presenting alternatives to cycles of conflict,
violence, crime and injustice.
At the heart of The Forgiveness Project is an understanding that
restorative narratives have the power to transform lives; not only supporting
people to move on from harm or trauma, but also building a climate of
tolerance, resilience, hope and empathy.
Christ the King Emmanuel was proud to host a Mercy Love and Forgiveness
conference this week. We were excited to be able to welcome distinguished
speakers Reverend Jonathan Aitken, Lord Alton, Dr Lewis Herrington, Archdeacon
of Hackney Elizabeth Adekunle, Jo Berry and Barry and Margaret Mizen.
This academic conference is part of a series of activities and events
aimed at giving explicit effect to our mission. The conference explored and
embedded key themes which stem from our college motto ‘Ut Vitam Habeant’ (That
they may have life in all its fullness John 10:10), those key themes are Mercy,
Forgiveness and Love.
Current global and local issues such as excesses of materialism,
loneliness, religious persecution, poverty, humanitarian crisis and
environmental concerns are just some of the political, social and economic
questions facing us all. Drawing on gospel values we hope to begin to explore
our spirituality and to examine how Mercy, Forgiveness and Love play a crucial
role in transforming our communities, ourselves and leading us to greater love
for all creation.
This opportunity to listen, engage and reflect would hopefully have
helped to guide leaders of current and future generations to a world that is
unafraid to show mercy, forgiveness and love. It will challenge us all to live
a good life in all its fullness.
On Wednesday 6th February 2019, 27 BTEC Health and Social Care students embarked on a 3 day trip to Disneyland Paris accompanied by three members of staff. All students attended a Health and Social Care international conference related to their modules of study. The Health and Social Care Conference covered modules such as equality and diversity, first aid, diet and nutrition, child Protection and safeguarding, meeting individual needs and health and safety. Students were issued a free one day complimentary entry ticket to the Disneyland parks and Walt Disney studios centre.
Christ the King was delighted to have
twelve students spend the afternoon with Dianne Johnson from Urban Synergy, and
Katherine Chamberlain and Laurence Wolf from Capgemini to learn more about
corporate mentoring and Degree Apprenticeships.
This is the 2nd year that Christ the King students have worked with Urban Synergy and Capgemini and this was the first in a series ofworkshops aimed at helping them to develop life skills as well as introducing them to Degree Apprenticeship opportunities. At the end of the series of workshops, Capgemni hopes to offer a number of Christ the King students a degree apprenticeship.
Christ the King was delighted to run our second, daylong event,
with Unloc Enterprise Academy which was held for
students wanting to consider alternative progression
routes.
The Unloc Enterprise Academy programme was designed to inspire,
motivate and develop the mind-sets of young people. The day helped
to develop student’s skills in setting up and testing their own
business ideas as well as exploring future apprenticeship opportunities.
Unloc started in 2011 as a small Portsmouth community project run by Hayden Taylor and Ben Dowling who were young entrepreneurs that wanted to see students getting more engaged with local decision makers. Their aim is to help create a highly capable, actively engaged and civic minded generation of young people.
CTK Emmanuel was
delighted to recently invite David Thompson, renowned film and
TV producer, to come and give an inspiring talk to over 100 Media students
from across our sites.
David has
produced/executive produced over 100 films and been the recipient of multiple
awards, including three BAFTAs, two Golden Globes, and three Emmys.
David
spoke to students about his career as the former head of BBC Films as
well as being an independent film and TV producer. He spoke in
detail about many of his films including ‘Mandela’ and ‘Billy Elliot’
explaining the many challenges he had in producing
them.
David also
explained about the opportunities for students in the film industry and
how best for them forge a career if this was a path they were keen to
pursue. Students were delighted that he spent almost an hour
talking on a one to one basis to those that remained after his talk.
Members of the
CTK Emmanuel Gospel Choir sang for charity in Lewisham shopping centre prior to
the Christmas break.
Fundraising for
the Deptford Reach Centre for the homeless, they drew an
appreciative crowd of onlookers, young and old, who thoroughly enjoyed the
beautiful and joyous singing emanating from the students. Ably directed by Ms
Natalie Christian-John and accompanied by her keyboardist, David, the students
outdid themselves as they performed with great joy and gusto. It was a
wonderful opportunity to share the hope of the Christmas Gospel message through
song, combined with raising funds for a worthwhile local charity. The New
Year will see further performances of the Gospel Choir in the local
community.
On Monday 7th January, the BTEC Sport Level 3 upper students
welcomed Personal Trainer Joe Merry of GingerJoetraining.com.
Joe is from Lewisham and now runs a successful personal
trainer business particularly focusing on performance athletes. He is also has
a strong social media following. The group are currently studying towards the
exam Unit 22 Investigating business in the Sports and Active Leisure Industry.
Students were able to listen to how Joe has built his business and asked questions in relation to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Students need to research the personal training industry and this was a valuable opportunity to support their case studies. Huge thanks to Joe who lit up the room with his energy and passion for chasing your dream.
CTK was delighted to welcome volunteers from Frontier
recently to all three of our sites. The Frontier volunteers spoke to
Applied Science students about the environmental
and conservation efforts they support.
They work all over the world and they explained how
our students can become involved with their valuable efforts. They
also explained how in terms of marine conservation, Frontier provides
volunteers and interns with valuable, real world experience in marine science
and research for building careers in marine biology, conservation and
environmental sciences.
With over 600 research papers published in their history, they can
boldly and proudly say they are leading the way in conservation
research.
All three CTK sites were delighted to have Duro
from 2020Change come back once again this year and speak to students about
the valuable work they do in the local communities. 2020Change was set-up
to build the next generation of community, business and political
leaders.
Duro spoke with great passion about how he strongly believes
that today’s young people have the potential to become tomorrow’s
leaders. He stressed that all they need is someone to show them how to use
their past experiences as transferable skills and this would allow them to
thrive in the corporate world.
Duro also explained to students how he successfully
built and sold his first business before deciding to work in the
charitable sector.
We hope to see Duro and 2020Change again next year!
On Wednesday 5th December 2018 the Year 12 and 13 Basketball team
hosted a KCSP Basketball competition in our St Mary’s sports hall. The boys
competed in 4 pool games against our Emmanuel site, Colfe’s School, Knights
Academy and Bromley South East College.
Slam dunks, three pointers and offensive rebounds abounded as all
five teams demonstrated a high level of skill and dedication. The closest
fought match, perhaps unsurprisingly, was between the two Christ the King
sites; unfortunately for us the Emmanuel team edged the game by one basket.
After the final basket has been slammed, the Knights Academy team had triumphed; fittingly enough as their name is closest sounding to a professional team.
We would like to thank all players for their hard work and
dedication in representing the college and staff in helping us prepare.
They compete in a range of sports from football to athletics and is always very competitive!
On Wednesday 5th
December 2018 the Year 12 and 13 Basketball team hosted a KCSP Basketball
competition in our St Mary’s sports hall. The boys competed in 4 pool games
against our Emmanuel site, Colfe’s School, Knights Academy and Bromley South
East College.
Slam dunks,
three pointers and offensive rebounds abounded as all five teams demonstrated a
high level of skill and dedication. The closest fought match, perhaps unsurprisingly,
was between the two Christ the King sites; unfortunately for us the Emmanuel
team edged the game by one basket.
After the final
basket has been slammed, the Knights Academy team had triumphed; fittingly
enough as their name is closest sounding to a professional team…
We would like to
thank all players for their hard work and dedication in representing the
college and staff in helping us prepare.
A number of BTEC Level 3 Business students were selected to attend a Leadership Symposium that took place in Harpenden. During the conference students had the opportunity to discover the latest developments in corporate leadership as well as interview numerous captains of industry. The trip will assist students in their work in the Business Decision making unit.
Urban Synergy’s ‘Tips to the Top’ Role Model seminar is one of the
highlights of the academic year at Christ the King. The annual cross-site
event, which features panel discussions and speed mentoring sessions, inspires
confidence in our students and gives them an opportunity to interact with
leading industry professionals.
Discussions of this kind not only broaden student horizons but
also provide a valuable insight into the qualities of academic and professional
success. The mentoring programmes and inspirational seminars organised by the
charity provide support, guidance and encouragement for young people, and
motivate them to achieve their best.
This year Christ the King was fortunate enough to welcome the
following guest speakers to the panel:
Andrew Cole, Retired International Footballer
Oliver Adebayo, Trainee Orthopaedic Surgeon
Troy Von Scheibner – Magician & TV Personality (CTK alumnus)
David Olusegun – CEO, Black Diamond Records (CTK alumnus)
Natalie Scott – Fashion Stylist (CTK alumnus)
The evening opened with an introductory session, in which
the panel discussed their personal journeys and outlined the steps
they have taken to get to where they are today. This was followed by an
insightful Q&A session, in which students addressed personal questions to
members of the panel.
Professionals from banking, medicine, technology, fashion,
politics, construction, law, teaching and research based professions then took
part in a speed mentoring session which comprised a string of five minute
talks with small groups of students. We were delighted that among these
professional were another three CTK alumni:
Seni Fawehinmi: New Business Development Manager – Thomson Reuters
Jeff Perkins:Executive Director – Storyful
Charisma Jones: Solicitor – Lime TV
CTK students left the event feeling both inspired and
motivated about their future potential!
Changes in technology and the labour market mean that students
need to be aware of the career opportunities available to them in the future
and how to best take advantage of them. To support this, the October half term
saw the launch of the fifth annual CTK Fast Track Programme. As in previous
years, the Programme involved 50 students from all three CTK sites coming
together at CTK: Emmanuel for two days of training.
The morning session on the first day was led by Dr Rupert Evenett
(Chair of Governors) who talked to the students about “Developing a
professional work ethic.” During the talk Dr Evenett covered topics
including the importance of time keeping, personal presentation and the skills
needed to work well and succeed in the modern workplace.
During the second part of the first days training we welcomed Seye
Olokede, a former student from Christ the King, who spoke about his own
experiences and what it takes to be a success. During this session Seye talked
about the use of social media in a professional environment and the
benefits of networking through LinkedIn.
The first day concluded with Maria O’Regan along with her
colleagues from Santander conducting two workshops “Building and
presenting a compelling CV” and “Competency based Interviews”.
Working in small groups, students had the opportunity to get advice and
guidance on their CVs and how they could develop their interview
techniques.
The second days training was run by The Unloc Enterprise Academy
and focused on alternative career routes for students; specifically on self-employment
and entrepreneurship.
Feedback from students and guests was that the training was hugely
beneficial and will have a positive impact on their career aspirations and
goals.
To celebrate October Black History Month, a group called Africa
Experience were invited by the Chaplaincy team to provide engaging workshops on
African drumming and Capoeria (martial art).
The facilitators skilfully invited the young people to participate in a fun display of skills that created a wonderful atmosphere of laughter and excitement that generated a real sense of wellbeing and community. The students commented afterwards how much they received from the experience as it gave them a great boost in their self-confidence. Africa Experience will return for the Christmas community day to share their gifts as they perform and interact with the wider student body.
Ten students from Christ the King: Emmanuel, St.
Mary’s and Aquinas attended the ‘Monster Confidence’ Event at Plexal,
Queen Elizabeth Park in Stratford.
This event was run by the Stemettes who promote women in
STEM (Science, Technology, Maths and Engineering). The students were involved
in confidence workshops, mentoring and interview practice. They also met
many inspirational women who currently work in STEM. It was an inspiring day
for all.
Annakaye Wilmot, who is studying BTEC Applied Science, said ‘I
enjoyed the conference as the whole event gave a great importance of women
exploring and gaining jobs within fields that are mainly male dominated.’
Ashleigh Powis Frost, a BTEC Applied science student, found the CV and
interview practice session particularly interesting.
f
On Friday 28th September, Dr Mark Mantey, the
Director of the Padre Pio Rehabilitation Centre for Leprosy
suffers, in Ghana, came to speak to Business Studies students about his work.
He spoke passionately about his personal experience and history with the Centre that he now directs on behalf of the local community. Historically, Christ the King College through the leadership of the then Chaplain, Fr Doug Bull, raised significant funds to support the building of a ‘Christ the King’ Education Building on the campus.
CTK students at Emmanuel and St Mary’s were delighted to
have Louis Howell, Director of Revolution Hive, talk to them about
his career.
Luis explained to students that as someone with interests and experience in marketing, entrepreneurialism, sports and youth programmes, he has had to demonstrate a versatile skill set that has helped him to excel at roles in both the commercial and voluntary sectors.
CTK: Emmanuel was delighted to have Dame Nicola Brewer,
Vice-Provost International, University College London (UCL), launch our
annual External Speaker Programme.
Over 100 students had the opportunity to listen to Nicola’s
inspirational talk about her career as a senior diplomat at the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office. Nicola explained to students how she came
to be British High Commissioner to South Africa, Lesotho and
Swaziland from May 2009 to September 2013.
As Vice-Provost (International), Nicola talked about
her responsibilities for UCL’s Global Engagement Strategy to achieve fair
solutions to global challenges. Nicola also spoke of her work on Women’s
Rights and her role as Gender Equality Champion on UCL’s Senior Management
Team, something she is extremely passionate about.
Simon Spearman, Principal of CTK: Emmanuel, where the visit took place, said: ‘Dame Nicola Brewer has got our External Speaker Programme off to a brilliant start. She is one of many high-profile visitors from the worlds of academia, politics, and industry who will be coming into our colleges over the next few months. Our students gain a great deal from hearing these inspirational, high-achieving individuals speak about their own education and career paths.
Along with other Catholic schools and Colleges, CTK Students,
Chaplains, the Vice Principal and Chair of Governors represented the College at
the Education Commission’s Beginning of the Academic Year Mass
in St George’s Cathedral on Tuesday 11th September.
Archbishop Peter was the main celebrant who spoke about the importance of Catholic Education that provided the opportunity of developing the whole person. Some of the students pictured below with Archbishop Peter were also involved in the Choir that consisted of a range of schools. It was a joyful and uplifting occasion that cemented the sense of being part of a wider family of Catholic schools and Colleges in the Archdiocese of Southwark.
CTK: Emmanuel
was delighted to have Dame Nicola Brewer, Vice-Provost International,
University College London (UCL), launch our annual External Speaker
Programme.
Over 100
students had the opportunity to listen to Nicola’s inspirational talk about her
career as a senior diplomat at the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office. Nicola explained to students how she came
to be British High Commissioner to South Africa, Lesotho and
Swaziland from May 2009 to September 2013.
As Vice-Provost
(International), Nicola talked about her responsibilities for
UCL’s Global Engagement Strategy to achieve fair solutions to global
challenges. Nicola also spoke of her work on Women’s Rights and her
role as Gender Equality Champion on UCL’s Senior Management Team, something she
is extremely passionate about.
Simon Spearman,
Principal of CTK: Emmanuel, where the visit took place, said: ‘Dame Nicola
Brewer has got our External Speaker Programme off to a brilliant start. She is
one of many high-profile visitors from the worlds of academia,
politics, and industry who will be coming into our colleges over the next
few months. Our students gain a great deal from hearing
these inspirational, high-achieving individuals speak about their own
education and career paths
CTK students at
Emmanuel and St Mary’s were delighted to have Louis Howell, Director
of Revolution Hive, talk to them about his career.
Luis explained
to students that as someone with interests and experience in marketing,
entrepreneurialism, sports and youth programmes, he has had to demonstrate a
versatile skill set that has helped him to excel at roles in both the
commercial and voluntary sectors.
Luis also told
them about his array of experiences during which he has managed,
co-ordinated and delivered both short-term and long-term programmes in
Marketing, whilst also demonstrating a flexible and
adaptive approach to everything he does.
He stated
“I am willing to give 100% in everything I do and young people need
to do likewise to be a success.”
Students and staff at Christ the King Sixth Form are celebrating
another year of excellent examination success at all three sites. Students have
progressed onto some of the most prestigious universities in the country.
Students who studied BTEC programmes achieved outstanding grades,
with many now planning to study at Russell Group Universities.
Susmitha gained D*D*D in BTEC Science and will now study
Biomedical Science at Kingston University. Likewise, Natalie Summers
also achieved triple Distinction in BTEC Business and has been accepted on the
International Football and Business course at Wembley Stadium
UCFB. Callum O’Neill gained triple Distinction in BTEC Sports &
Exercise Science and will be off to Liverpool Hope to study Sport and Physical
Education. Abigail Berry is off to Plymouth University to study
Adult Nursing after achieving D*D*D* in BTEC Health and Social Care.
Golda Quarcoo will be going to Warwick University to study Biomedical
Science after achieving D*D*D* in BTEC Extended Diploma in Applied
Science. Natalie Poku gained D*D*D* in BTEC Extended Diploma in
Health & Social Care and will be going to Nottingham University to study
Midwifery. Annie Kouadine studied BTEC Extended Diploma in Business and
achieved D*D*D. She will be going to De Montfort University to study Accounting
and Finance. Mohammed Jakir studied BTEC Extended Diploma in Business and
achieved D*D*D. He has been successful in obtaining a Level 4 Apprenticeship in
Digital Marketing.
Mebrihit Tsehaye gained D*D*D* in BTEC Engineering and will go on
to study Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of
Coventry. Likewise Piriyankan Thavaraga gained D*D*D* in BTEC
Engineering and will go on to study Civil Engineering at Brunel
Engineering. Fellow BTEC Engineering student Odia Daley gained D*D*D
and will be studying Computer Science at Durham University.
Jamila Jones will be studying Criminology and Social Policy at
Loughborough University after gaining DDD in BTEC Art and
Design. Sandra Fajmige gained D*DD in BTEC Business and will be
studying Business Management and Marketing at Nottingham Trent University.
Likewise, Joshua Ogunyei achieved D*DD in BTEC Business and will be studying
Accounting and Finance at the University of Kent. Daniel Chirika
achieved D*DD in BTEC Engineering and will be studying Civil Engineering at the
University of Hertfordshire.
Rob McAuliffe, Collegiate Principal, said “Once again our BTEC
Diploma students have achieved excellent results and we are proud to say that
progression to university and employment from the college is extremely strong.
The hard work of staff and students is to be celebrated. Our young people are
ambassadors for their generation and our best wishes go out to each and every
one of them as they start the next phase of their education or employment
journey. There are some remarkable individual achievements and successes but
there is also a sense of whole college achievement here at Christ the King. As
a community we go from strength to strength”.
We are delighted to announce that progressing Christ the King
(CTK) students Ebony Haughton; Bossoma Kouadiane and
Emmanuel Idowu have each been awarded scholarships with Metric Capital Partners
to support them in their studies at university.
So far, twelve £15,000 scholarships have been awarded to students
at CTK by Metric Capital Partners. 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 ethnic
minority students with an adult mentor.
When Seni enrolled at CTK, he introduced his mentor to our
principal. From this meeting, the Metric Capital scholarships were born.
John was inspired to create the programme after encountering
aspirational and high-performing students at the college who, despite wanting
to go to university, simply couldn’t afford it. “It’s a crippling experience
for many people to come out of university massively in debt,” he says. “Tuition
fees are only part of the expense of going to university. There are living
expenses that can be overwhelming for people, and ultimately drive their
decision not to go.”
Three Metric scholarships are awarded every year – one to a
student attending each of the three colleges that make up Christ the King.
The students are selected according to academic performance and
financial means-testing, before undergoing a formal interview. And the
relationship doesn’t 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.
Former collegiate principal Jane Overbury likens John’s approach
to the mentoring offered in the TV show Dragons’ Den, explaining that the
students receive personal advice and access to a large list of relevant
contacts.
“John’s quite clear: it’s not [just] about the living expenses –
it’s access to books and resources and materials that some of our students
might struggle to have access to without these kind of funds being available,”
she says. “John has called for other businesses to take on this kind of role.
We would support that because it’s so individual, it’s so personal to
students…it’s not just about money.”
On Friday 29th June the football team attended the Annual
KSFA Presentation dinner held at Gillingham Football Club.
Students enjoyed a meal followed by a formal presentation of the trophies. Each student received a medal and certificate in recognition of their achievements. The night was thoroughly enjoy by all students and staff who attended. Hopefully the team can continue with this success into next season.
As part of the Creative Arts Evening, the lower sixth Drama
Students performed extracts from Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’, based on
the Salem witch trials.
The groups performed extracts of the most poignant parts of the
play and were dressed in full puritan costume to give it an authentic feel.
They performed to family and friends and this has given them the experience of
performing to an audience outside of class ready for the Performance exam next
year.
“
Christ the King Emmanuel was delighted to recently host a
‘Diversity in STEM’ event which was organised by ‘Greeate Careers’ and
which was attended by students from across all three sites studying Physics and
Engineering.
Cephas Williams and Deborah Obaseki of
‘Greeate Careers’ led a panel discussion which included Najwa Jawahar a Senior
Structural Engineer at WSP, Anirban Basak a Principal Electrical Engineer at
Aecom, Sara Kassam, Head of Sustainability for CIBSE and Diego Padilla Philipps
an Associate at WSP.
After the panel discussion the students were divided into smaller
groups for speed mentoring with our illustrious guests. The students learnt a
great deal form the event and many said that this event had given them the
confidence to pursue a career in engineering.
Thanks to ‘Greeate Careers’ and all our guest speakers from the Physics and Engineering students at CTK!
On the Thursday 14th June, Christ the King
students from Emmanuel, Aquinas and St Mary’s, attended a Science conference at
St Mary’s site. This cross-site event comprised talks from several speakers
from Kent University, Imperial College, Welcome Trust Sanger Institute and
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The presenters inspired the students to pursue a career in
Science, sharing their academic and career path and their future professional
prospects. The students felt that knowing other people’s path to success and
learning about their experiences enlightened them about their own choices and
means to achieve their goals.
On the Thursday 10th May, Ascension Day, CTK
students from Emmanuel and Aquinas, joined the Chaplaincy team to attend the 10th Anniversary
Memorial Service for Jimmy Mizen. During the service powerful words were
offered by friends about the legacy, in particular about the three Good
Hope Cafes that have been established with the intention of creating
safe spaces for young people to grow up in. Margaret, Barry, Jimmy’s
parents, and Danny Mizen, his older brother (pictured with group), reflected on
the ten-year journey since Jimmy’s death and spoke positively about plans
for the next 10 years. The couple appealed for young people and communities to
come together to stop violence, particularly in London.
Archbishop Peter Smith, who led the service, spoke of the need to
assure young people that they are valuable and precious in God’s eyes and
encouraged all gathered to think of how we can show each other love,
forgiveness and compassion. The students were profoundly impacted by the
experience of the occasion. CTK student Georgina, said: “The memorial service
for Jimmy was beautiful, insightful and showed the bravery and pure
determination of the Mizen family to create peace and forgiveness amongst the
youth. The service not only captured the life and true beauty of Jimmy, but
despite the tragic circumstances, it also captured what he has inspired and how
his life is lived through his family, and how the charity set up in his
honour has and will continue to drive change. I was honoured to be
present at the memorial.”
The Careers Conference at Christ the King Sixth
Form: Emmanuel continues to go from strength to strength. The
cross-site event comprises a variety of university and career based talks as
well as a large-scale exhibition. The day provides a fantastic opportunity for
our Level 3 students to start thinking about their future and to explore
their options. As in previous years, a separate Level 1 & 2 Careers
Conference was held at CTK: Aquinas which offered specific support to students studying
a BTEC Level 1 or 2 course.
Students prepare for the Conference by pre-booking their places
for the talks they wish to attend and individual timetables are created
which include a visit to the exhibition, thus ensuring their time spent at the
Conference is focussed and productive.
Over 80 external organisations supported the Conference by either
exhibiting or providing speakers for the talks. Many of the
participants were returning, having attended the event in previous years.
The programme of talks included sessions on a wide range of careers from
Medicine and the NHS to entrepreneurship, journalism, engineering, banking and
many more.
On Monday 23rd April, Chaplaincy students,
Francelene and Andreea, along with Deacon Javier, represented CTK at the
annual Good Samaritan Mass organised by the Diocesan Education
Commission at St George’s Cathedral, Southwark.
The occasion was the opportunity for Catholic School and Colleges to gather and celebrate the important work of Charity fundraising that takes place throughout the academic year. In particular, donations were brought forward for the CRISIS Fund, administered by The Westminster Catholic Children’s Society.
The final day of every term is a Community Day, a day for setting
aside the stress and work of the year and a time for reflection and having fun
as a College community. The end of this Easter term was no different, with
numerous charity initiatives combined with the end of term fun.
For Sport Relief, a dress down day and Easter egg
raffle were put together. More Easter eggs were donated to the Demelza
Hospice (A charity that provides care for sick children in South
London). Pictures below include Deacon Javier Elderfield, Co-ordinating
Chaplain with the Easter boxes ready for delivery, and Royann Whyte, the
President of the Student Executive, with staff from Demelza hospice.
As well as various activities and challenges taking place in tutor
groups, there was also a time built-in for reflection and thought. The 10:10
theatre company showed a film and facilitated a discussion on relationships and
communication entitled “Babies”.
Overall, it was a thoroughly well rounded day of fun and
engagement, concluding a successful Easter term.
At this college, we are blessed to have a Gospel Choir on all
three sites, but they do not often get the chance to perform together. So it
was an ambitious idea when Natalie, the Gospel Choir leader, with the support
of the Chaplaincy team, proposed bringing them all together, as well as another
ten schools from across the diocese, to perform a Gospel Choir Spectacular at
Southwark Cathedral.
With over 300 young people, present and performing to a packed out crowd, the performance did not disappoint. Each of the individual choirs performed two songs, with some exceptional soloists taking centre stage, with the concert topped and tailed with all the schools performing together – a truly awe inspiring sound that filled the cathedral and reverberated down to those who were witnessing this moment. It was pleasing to see our college students filled with such passion and giving their all on what was a beautiful evening.
Christ the King Emmanuel Health and Social Care Level 2 students
were privileged to visit London South Bank University.
They experienced two university lectures on mental health and
learning disabilities and they attended a number of interactive workshops on
infection prevention and control, bed making and how to manage university
finances. Students were given a tour around the campus at the end of the
visit.
CTK Emmanuel was pleased to welcome Magdalene Adenaike, award
winning entrepreneur CEO, Founder of Music Relief and a
member of the FRSA (Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts) for a talk to
its students.
Magdalene shared with students her experiences of being
a teenage mum who faced redundancy and homelessness but never gave up on
her dream of being successful in the field of music. Having left school
she decided not to take the Accounting & Statistics course her parents
wanted her to. She eventually worked for Barclays for four years, until she was
made redundant. Supported by her partner she studied for
a degree at UEL in Music Industry Management whilst
also volunteering as a vocal coach in the local community.
It was at this stage of her life that Magdalene fully realised the
healing power of music, not just on her, but on the community: bringing
people together and helping them share their issues. This is when she was
inspired to found Music Relief in 2011, inspiring young people to grow
their business through their talents, transforming their lives through the process
and breaking down barriers that stops them from progressing.
Magdalene is also author of the book “From Shame to Strength. Music Saved Me” in which she describes the influence of music in her life. Magdalene advised the students: “In growing up, life has its way of throwing challenges at you. Its your job to deal with those challenges .”
A cohort of CTK: Emmanuel Business students
recently enjoyed a talk by Rory O’Sullivan of Landers &
Associates (chartered building surveyors).
His talk, “What’s hot and what’s not” was based
on his experience as an employer. He engaged with the students involving them
in a hands-on session in which they practised a number of interview
techniques that will help them when they apply for jobs in the future. Students
enjoyed the session and received some very useful top tips on interview
etiquette.
Rory has worked with CTK for a number of years, supporting students in understanding the world of work and he is also a member of the College’s Partnership Advisory Board.
Christ the King were pleased to recently run a daylong event
with Unloc Enterprise Academy which was held for
students wanting to consider alternative progression
routes.
The Unloc Enterprise Academy programme was designed to help
Colleges to inspire, motivate and develop the mind-sets of their students. The
day helped to develop students skills in setting up and testing their
own business and project ideas as well as exploring future apprenticeship
opportunities.
Unloc started in 2011 as a small Portsmouth community project run by Hayden Taylor and Ben Dowling who were young people that wanted to see young people getting more engaged with local decision makers. Their aim is to help create a highly capable, actively engaged and civic minded generation of young people.
CTK was delighted to launch a new initiative with Capgemini (a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing services) and Urban Synergy that will see over twenty CTK students go to a number of workshops aimed at helping them develop life skills and introducing them to degree apprenticeship opportunities. At the end of the initiative Capgemni hope to offer a number of CTK students a degree apprenticeship.
A degree apprenticeship combines full-time paid work and part-time
university to offer candidates the opportunity to gain a full Bachelors or
Master’s degree while partaking in practical, on-the-job training. They
were launched by the government in 2015, and are studied over the course of one
to six years. There are many benefits to degree apprenticeships. As well
as holding employment status and receiving a wage throughout the course, an
apprentice’s tuition fees and training costs are settled between their
education institution and employer.
FranklinEMMANUELGrades achieved: D*DDProgressed to: Kingston UniversityCourse: BTEC Engineering
“Being at Christ the King has been a great and immersive experience. CTK is a place for growth, discovery, and adapting to new challenges. I received a £15,000 Metric Capital scholarship to help me go on university to study Engineering.”
Jorge EMMANUELGrades achieved: D*DDProgressed to: Brunel UniversityCourse: BTEC Sport Level 3
“I've had a great experience at CTK. I've met a lot of new people and gained knowledge that I will need in the future. I'm going to study Sport and Exercise Science at Brunel University. My teachers always went the extra mile to make sure I had all my work completed. I would recommend CTK because the knowledgeable and passionate teachers always help students to succeed.”
JoyEMMANUELGrades achieved: D*D*DProgressed to: Kingston UniversityCourse: BTEC Applied Science
“CTK offers good opportunities and a wide range of courses that I was very interested in. I have learnt excellent time management and determination through the support and advice of my teachers, this is what helped me to achieve my grades. ”
ChizobaEMMANUELGrades achieved: D*D*D*Progressed to: Aston UniversityCourse: BTEC Level 3 Business
“Studying at Christ The King has enabled me to become more independent as a person, as I was able to take on more responsibility for my own learning and acquire new skills such as my time management and organisational skills.”
KlaudijaEMMANUELGrades achieved: D*DDProgressed to: University of GreenwichCourse: BTEC Level 3 Health & Social Care
“The teachers at CTK are very talented, and they helped me to achieve my best. Everyone is always there to support you as a young individual in all possible areas. I recommend CTK because students always receive the support they need. There are many different activities and opportunities that students can get involved in and improve on a variety of skills.”
