As part of our work with the Shakespeare Schools Festival, our students recently took part in an inspiring workshop led by a professional practitioner from Shakespeare’s Globe. The session focused on Hamlet, giving students the opportunity to revisit key scenes and explore them in greater depth.

Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation is a cultural education charity that empowers young people through performing Shakespeare. It runs the world's largest youth drama festival, enabling thousands of students annually to perform in professional theatres.

During the workshop, students refined their performance skills through practical exercises, developing their understanding of character, language, and staging. The Globe practitioner encouraged them to experiment with a modern interpretation of the play, helping to build confidence, clarity, and creativity in their performances.

Click the photograph above to watch a short instagram reel on the day's activities!

The workshop was a valuable experience, combining literary analysis with practical theatre-making, and it significantly strengthened the students’ work as they prepare for their upcoming performance. The group will present a modern version of Hamlet at the Arts Depot in March, showcasing both their academic engagement with Shakespeare’s text and their growing theatrical skill.

90 of our students sat the UKMT Intermediate Mathematical Challenge on Wednesday. The Junior Mathematical Challenge held in April,  is only for Year 8s and below. Whereas this Intermediate Challenge allows our KS4 students to compete, and is for Year 11s and below. 

The Intermediate Challenge is 60-minute, 25-question multiple-choice Challenge. The problems on the Intermediate Maths Challenge provide challenges for more experienced students, promoting careful thinking and problem-solving.

Here's what Mrs Balani, our UKMT Coordinator had to say:  

"Think smart, stay calm, and enjoy the problem-solving journey, we’re incredibly proud of you all!"

We look forward to the results in a few weeks!

National Puzzle Day was celebrated on the 29th January here at Canons High School! Organised by our lovely librarian, Ms Baah, students were encouraged in advance to head down to the library during break and lunch time to enjoy some screen-free activities. 

Puzzles were ever so kindly gifted to our students by our Media Resources Team, ranging from beginner levels all the way up to 5000+ pieced puzzles! 

International Puzzle Day was founded by Jodi Jill in 2002. Jodi felt "overwhelmed by the chaos humans are expected to endure. The rush to work, school, and appointments". She sees puzzles as a way to live in the moment, allowing us to let go of everything that we are worrying about and focus on the task at hand. 

Great Teamwork!

Our students got stuck right into the puzzles which Ms Baah kindly organised by difficulty. From KS3, to KS4 and even Sixth-Formers enjoyed solving the puzzles! 

Heads down and no screens in sight! 

Whether it’s a crossword, jigsaw, word search, Sudoku puzzle or brain teaser, puzzles are a great way to put our minds to work. Regularly spending time working on puzzles can improve:

• Memory
• Cognitive Function
• Problem-Solving Skills
• Logic and Reasoning
• Critical Thinking
• Vocabulary and Numeracy

Did you know? 

Before we developed the term "Jigsaw Puzzles", Puzzles were called "Dissected Maps". As the first puzzles were designed from cutting up sections of a map, they were aptly called “dissected maps.”

By celebrating National Puzzle Day, we hope to introduce and remind our students of the joy that comes from solving a puzzle. Encouraging them to take the time to step away from the digital world, and exercise their brains.  Whether you enjoy solo puzzle-solving or prefer tackling them as a group, this day is all about having fun and sharpening your mental acuity!

Girls Netball VS Hatch End!

14th January | Ms Deftu

The second week of term saw two sports events for our KS3 Students. Our Year 9 Girls Netball Team had an evening match, against Hatch End High School.

Esther, Amika, Khadija, Siennah, Manaal, Saja, Freja, Karina, Yasmin and Hodan all competed to the best of their abilities, but unfortunately did not succeed to the next round. Our player of the match was Saja! However, an amazing effort from the entire team, as it was a close match.  

Cross Country Event

15th January | Mr Benstead

4 of our Key Stage 3 Students represented Canons High School in a Cross Country Event in Harrow. Despite the awful wintery weather, our students remained positive and all participated in the intermediate boys and girls events. Cross Country courses require great stamina, our students definitely gave their 100% and did us proud!

A well deserved congratulations to Jessica K 9Y, Julia P 9Y, Bakhtar J 8O, and Muhammad D 8O!

Indoor Athletics

22nd January | Ms Deftu

Our Year 8 students put in a great effort at the indoor athletics competition at Whitefriars School on Thursday. They showed strong teamwork, enthusiasm, and represented the school well throughout the event by being on their best behaviour. 

Well done to: Julius B 8I, Omer Z 8B, Hussein A 8I, Chris P 8I, Joan O 8B, Sharon O 8I, Goddess D 8O, Aanya R 8G, Miriam G 8G, Halle S 8B

Our Girls' Netball team

Thank you Ms Deftu!

Great teamwork!