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The latest from Charles Darwin School

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  • Orchestra for All every Friday lunchtime in Mu2. All staff and students are welcome.

    Published 07/09/23

     

     

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  • GCSE Results 2023

    Published 01/09/23

    With GCSE results returning to 2019 levels we are pleased that our results have surpassed our 2019 performance in many areas.

    We are a comprehensive school that is proud of the achievements of all our students, especially as 80% of our students gained a grade 9-4 in English and in Maths this was 75%.

     

    Today we get to celebrate many personal achievements, however we would like to mention a few students who have achieved exceptionally high grades:

     

    Oscar Brocklehurst – Nine 9 grade 9s

    Olivia Zirgulyte – Three 9s, three 8s, one 7 and two 6’s

    Lewis Longley – Two 9s, three 8s, two 7s and 2 6s

    Sophie Strawson – Two 9s, three 8s, three 7s and one 6

    Abheetha Singhara-Mudalige – One 9, three 8s, four 7s and one 6

     Our school values are Aspire, Endeavour and Achieve, which is embedded in everything we do at Charles Darwin. It is for this reason that I would like to recognise the progress made by the following students for making exceptional progress since leaving their primary school, significantly higher than the national averages:

     

    Alexandra Horner
    Erin Iliffe
    Grace Doyle
    Olivia Zirgulyte
    William Clement

     Headteacher, Mr Aston Smith said:

    “It is a great privilege to be able to celebrate the achievements of our students. These results are testament to the commendable attitude to learning by our students and the dedication of our fantastic staff and the encouragement and support from the parents.

    I am delighted to be able to welcome the majority of this year group back into our sixth form and for those that are moving on to college or apprenticeships I wish them the very best for the future.”

    Read More
  • Excellent A Level Results

    Published 17/08/23

     

    With a tradition of high academic achievement and dedication to nurturing young minds, Charles Darwin School once again demonstrated excellent results, showcasing the hard work and determination of its students.

    It is a great privilege to be able to pay tribute to our pupils, individually and collectively. It has been widely publicised in the media that results nationally were returning to that similar to 2019 levels and we are pleased that our results have surpassed our 2019 level in many areas, this was the case in the important measure of proportion of grades at A*-C, of which we had 74%.

    These achievements are particularly commendable considering the unique challenges faced over the past couple of years, with students having not sat public exams since primary school.

    Whilst today marks many personal achievements we would like to mention a few students who have achieved exceptionally highly, often in some challenging circumstances:

    Charlie Long AA Dist

    Charlie DeJonge A*AB

    Tobi Abiodun AAB

    Ethan Fergusson AAB

    Jodie Shilito AAB

    Lily Steen AAB

    Isabella Antepim Dist, AB

    Finn Barden Dist, AB

    Connor O Shea Dist* AC

    Alex Devlin Dist, Dist, B

    Nyah Tomlinson Allen Dist, Dist, B​

    Melissa Hewitt Dist* BB

    Chardney Prata Neto Dist* BB

    Ben Burgess ABB

    Holly Doyle ABB

    We are proud to announce that the majority of our students have taken up university places, including many Russel Group Universities. Others are moving on to take up apprenticeships and employment.

    Headteacher, Mr Aston Smith said, “These results are testament to the endeavour of our pupils, the dedication of our staff and the support of parents. The students have achieved these fantastic results, however it has been made possible through some truly excellent teaching and support from the staff here at Charles Darwin School and I would like to thank them all for this.” Mr Smith also went on to say that “the achievements of Charles Darwin students were not limited to just academics. This cohort was known for the significant number of students that were involved in extra-curricular activities, community service projects, charity work and demonstrated leadership skills that will undoubtedly contribute to their success in higher education or the workplace.”

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  • 2022/23 DofE Celebration Evening

    Published 12/12/23

    On Monday 4th December, all of our DofE students who completed their expeditions last academic year were invited along with their parents and carers to attend an evening of celebration at the school. The evening was very well attended by students and their families who were there to celebrate their child’s accomplishments.

    During the event, Mr Culver, Mr Mills and Miss Owen spoke about the challenges our students had overcome and the skills they had exhibited during the expedition. It was truly inspiring to hear about the resilience and determination they displayed throughout their journey.  We are incredibly proud of their accomplishments.

    They also shared examples of the numerous ways in which our students have supported local charities, sports teams, and residents through their participation in the DofE award; it was lovely to see how valued their support is within the community. Watching a selection of the students’ expedition videos was a highlight of the evening that really displayed the camaraderie and teamwork our students are capable of.

    The evening concluded with the presentation of the well-deserved certificates. It was a proud moment for both our students and our school. We commend them for their hard work and dedication in achieving this significant milestone.

    We are currently enroling students onto Bronze and Silver DofE awards for expeditions in 2024, and are proud that so many students get the opportunity to take part in what is such an enriching experience.

    Congratulations to all the students who received their certificates and our thanks also to all the staff members who supported them throughout this journey.

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  • RESET Award recognises Charles Darwin School as “Outstanding Secondary School”​​​​​ Healthy Relationships Champions

    Published 01/11/23

    Demonstrating the utmost commitment to Relationships Sex Education and promoting healthy relationships within their setting and wider community with the aim of preventing gender-based violence.

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  • Support Charles Darwin School PTA by just downloading the Easyfundraising App

    Published 11/10/23

    Download the App before 1st November for the PTA to receive £2 bonus for every supporter who signs up.

    Click here to scan QR Code

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  • 50th Anniversary Courtyard Renovation and Mural Painting: A Community in Action

    Published 04/10/23

    To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the school, we decided to renovate the courtyard area outside the canteen which had become rather run-down so that students can have another pleasant place to sit at break and lunch and so that it looks as smart as the recently renovated canteen.

    Students and staff have been involved throughout the process, starting with a competition to design a mural for the wall. The design brief was to create a mural design for the large wall that celebrated the work of Charles Darwin and had a tropical botanical garden vibe.

    Students from several year groups entered the competition and the winning design was created by Leo Currier in 8HBu, who, as usual with all of his homework, put lots of thought and effort into producing a creative and thoughtful design. Well done Leo and thanks to the other students who sent in entries: Maggie McCarthy, Daine-Louise Iaonnou, Sam Young, Jack Rice, Edie Plinston and Charlotte Duncombe. Thanks also to Miss Doughty, Miss Stroud and Mrs Doig for their help with the planning, judging and organising of materials for the mural.

    The next step in the renovation was to redecorate the whole area so we enlisted the help of some year 10 students who had some decorating experience - Presley Burns, Vinnie Edwards, Lucas Rutledge, Ruby Baker, Kendall Henry and Tyrell Fulton. They did a great job painting all the walls a pale grey colour to match the canteen. Thanks to Mrs Newall for helping to collect the paint and to Oliver Molsher for cleaning the roof of the canopy.

    On the 2 enrichment days at the end of term, we started phase 2 of the project, which was the creation and painting of wooden planters to go in the corners of the courtyard. The was led by Mr Baker with support from Adam Iles, Oliver King, Billy Green, Liam Stacey, Sky Goksal, Blake Taylor and Brooke Taylor. Thanks to Mr Dunn for his assistance with collecting materials and helping to complete the final planter and to Mr Baker for his support throughout all the stages of the project. Thanks to Aston Fay-Abrehart for his help painting the planters.

    At the same time as the planters were being created, Mr Chubb started the mural painting off with planning how to turn Leo’s idea into a mural we could execute and then supervising day 1 of painting. On the second day, Mrs Doig led the year 10 students in completing the painting and making it look beautiful - what talented artists our teachers are! Thanks to the year 10 (mostly) Art students who did the painting- Tillie Bansel, Neve Ladd-Talbot, Olivia James, Georgia Robinson, Matilda Hewitt, Mia Cazalet-Smith, Millie Walker and Sonny Roberts as well as Charlotte Molsher. They did an amazing job really showcasing their artistic skills and creating something to be proud of and thanks to Tillie for coming in on the last day of term to get the painting finished.

    Throughout the project, Shay Royle, Peter Moseling, John Cowburn, Dean Lovatt and Roy Smith have been really helpful in providing equipment, moving furniture, collecting materials and generally being supportive. Thanks also to Mrs Stimson in finance and Mr Smith for helping to find the money for the project and his enthusiasm and encouragement thoughout all the stages.

    The final stages were helped tremendously by the donation of soil through a link by ex-student and parent James Bamber who put me in touch with Dawn Wales at DWP Recycling, a local business (and another ex-pupil), who very generously donated soil to fill the planters. Caiden and Jake Thwaites in year 11 were incredibly helpful moving the tonne of soil from the back of the school into the planters and we were really grateful to Miss Edwards who kindly gave up part of her time off to jetwash the courtyard.

    Thanks to Alfie Rapley, Nehemiah Mensah and Freddie Burns for helping to complete the final planter in time for Open Day.

    It has been lovely to be able to complete this project commemorating 50 years of Charles Darwin School by involving so many different members of our community- students, teachers, support staff, parents and former pupils. Charles Darwin School is very much a community school and we are so grateful to all the people who helped to transform this space into somewhere that students are already enjoying during their social time and hopefully will do for many years to come.

    Thank you to everyone who contributed to this amazing project.

    Ms Kelly, Assistant Headteacher


     

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  • KS3 History Summer Residential Trip To France

    Published 20/09/23

    Following the hugely successful trip to Poland with members of the older year groups, it was time to provide a history trip for the younger pupils and where better to go than Normandy and Paris?  Having departed from school before the dawn chorus we were at our first destination of Honfleur in time to polish off the substantial lunches not already digested on the coach.  Exploring this magical harbour town of brightly painted houses, chocolate shops and the largest wooden church in France (made only with axes) it is no wonder artists such as Claude Monet made it their home.  From here to the chateau where we were staying was an hour’s drive and arriving at our base,  where delicious food, first rate facilities (including a swimming pool)  and friendly staff awaited, we quickly unpacked and the evening was our own.

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  • Year 7 Open Morning: Saturday 30 September - Open Week: Open Week - Tuesday 3 - Friday 6 October

    Published 01/09/23

    Open Morning - Saturday 30 September 2023

    Parents of prospective students are invited to visit our high performing school to view and sample the exciting opportunities we have to offer. Pre booking for a tour only (9am) or Headteacher’s presentation followed by a tour (9am, 10am or 11am) is essential by lunchtime on  Thursday 28th SeptemberPriority will be given to Year 6 children.

    Presentations will start promptly at the advertised time so please leave sufficient time for parking. (There will be very limited on-site parking available).

    OPEN WEEK : Tuesday 3 -  Friday 6 October  2023 - Times: 08.45 & 09.00 

    Tours are held at 08.45 and 09.00. Parents are required to pre-book tours and presentations.

    If you wish to attend one of our Open Week tours you can pre-book a tour at 8.45am or 9.00am. Open week tours offer the opportunity to see the school in operation and to observe teaching taking place. This will be followed by a short Q & A session with the Headteacher. Please leave time for parking (none available on site). Pre-booking essential by 12.00pm on Monday 2nd October. Priority will be given to Year 6 children.

    Please email the relevant tour/presentation with your name, your child's name, their current year group, their current school and the number of places required.

    Tuesday 3rd October - FULLY BOOKED  

    Wednesday 4th October - FULLY BOOKED

    Thursday 5th October - FULLY BOOKED  

    Friday 6th October - FULLY BOOKED  

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    Please click here to  see our recent Ofsted Report 

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  • GCSE results day 2023

    Published 24/08/23

    With GCSE results returning to 2019 levels we are pleased that our results have surpassed our 2019 performance in many areas.

    We are a comprehensive school that is proud of the achievements of all our students, especially as 80% of our students gained a grade 9-4 in English and in Maths this was 75%.

    Today we get to celebrate many personal achievements, however we would like to mention a few students who have achieved exceptionally high grades:

    Oscar Brocklehurst – Nine 9 grade 9s

    Olivia Zirgulyte – Three 9s, three 8s, one 7 and two 6’s

    Lewis Longley – Two 9s, three 8s, two 7s and 2 6s

    Sophie Strawson – Two 9s, three 8s, three 7s and one 6

    Abheetha Singhara-Mudalige – One 9, three 8s, four 7s and one 6

     Our school values are Aspire, Endeavour and Achieve, which is embedded in everything we do at Charles Darwin. It is for this reason that I would like to recognise the progress made by the following students for making exceptional progress since leaving their primary school, significantly higher than the national averages:

    Alexandra Horner
    Erin Iliffe
    Grace Doyle
    Olivia Zirgulyte
    William Clement

     Headteacher, Mr Aston Smith said:

    “It is a great privilege to be able to celebrate the achievements of our students. These results are testament to the commendable attitude to learning by our students and the dedication of our fantastic staff and the encouragement and support from the parents.

    I am delighted to be able to welcome the majority of this year group back into our sixth form and for those that are moving on to college or apprenticeships I wish them the very best for the future.”

    Read More
  • Excellent A Level Results

    Published 17/08/23

     

    With a tradition of high academic achievement and dedication to nurturing young minds, Charles Darwin School once again demonstrated excellent results, showcasing the hard work and determination of its students.

    It is a great privilege to be able to pay tribute to our pupils, individually and collectively. It has been widely publicised in the media that results nationally were returning to that similar to 2019 levels and we are pleased that our results have surpassed our 2019 level in many areas, this was the case in the important measure of proportion of grades at A*-C, of which we had 74%.

    These achievements are particularly commendable considering the unique challenges faced over the past couple of years, with students having not sat public exams since primary school.

    Whilst today marks many personal achievements we would like to mention a few students who have achieved exceptionally highly, often in some challenging circumstances:

    Charlie Long AA Dist

    Charlie DeJonge A*AB

    Tobi Abiodun AAB

    Ethan Fergusson AAB

    Jodie Shilito AAB

    Lily Steen AAB

    Isabella Antepim Dist, AB

    Finn Barden Dist, AB

    Connor O Shea Dist* AC

    Alex Devlin Dist, Dist, B

    Nyah Tomlinson Allen Dist, Dist, B

    Melissa Hewitt Dist* BB

    Chardney Prata Neto Dist* BB

    Ben Burgess ABB

    Holly Doyle ABB

    We are proud to announce that the majority of our students have taken up university places, including many Russel Group Universities. Others are moving on to take up apprenticeships and employment.

    Headteacher, Mr Aston Smith said, “These results are testament to the endeavour of our pupils, the dedication of our staff and the support of parents. The students have achieved these fantastic results, however it has been made possible through some truly excellent teaching and support from the staff here at Charles Darwin School and I would like to thank them all for this.” Mr Smith also went on to say that “the achievements of Charles Darwin students were not limited to just academics. This cohort was known for the significant number of students that were involved in extra-curricular activities, community service projects, charity work and demonstrated leadership skills that will undoubtedly contribute to their success in higher education or the workplace.”

    Read More
  • Orpington Literary Festival: Students Meet Author Joseph Elliot

    Published 22/05/23

    On Friday 19 May, Mrs Holloway and I took eight students to meet the award-winning author of Shadow Skye Trilogy, Joseph Elliot at  the Orpington Literary Festival.

    We all enjoyed the talk from Joseph Elliot who inspired pupils with his lively storytelling and readings from his books.

    Each student had been given a copy of one of the author's books to take with them so that they could get it signed by him if they wanted.

    It was an enjoyable and informative afternoon and the students behaved impeccably.

    Mrs Adams
    Library Supervisor

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