Paris Maths trip
In January, well over 100 Year 10 maths students from all three schools, travelled to Paris in France.
Their maths themed visit involved learning about the maths involved in running Disneyland Paris as well as some amazing sightseeing in the city centre. The weather was cold but bright and dry and they all had a fantastic time.
Italy Ski Trip
In February, a group of over 40 students from Cockburn School and Cockburn Laurence Calvert Academy flew to the north of Italy to experience a week of skiing.
Demonstrating resilience, independence and confidence to learn new skills, all of the students had an amazing experience. The weather was perfect and as well as spending time on the slopes they made time for some local sightseeing also.
National Theatre Connections performances
Performing Arts students from Cockburn Laurence Calvert Academy and Cockburn John Charles Academy participated again in the National Theatre’s Connections Festival.
The programme is 30 years old and has a history of championing the talent of young people from across the UK. Each year, the National Theatre commissions ten new plays for young people to perform, bringing together some of the UK’s most exciting writers with the theatre-makers of tomorrow. They performed at the Cockburn Laurence Calvert Academy theatre, to their National Theatre director and mentor.
Students from CLCA created a performance of ‘Cloudbusting’ by Helen Blakeman, adapted from the Malorie Blackman novel. Sam expects an ordinary day until his teacher asks the class to write a poem about someone they care about. To everyone’s surprise, Sam chooses Davey — a friend he never admitted to having.
Davey was different: he loved dancing, cloud spotting, and seeing the world in unusual ways. While some classmates found him “cute,” others, like Morgan and his gang, targeted him for bullying. Sam enjoyed spending time with Davey but always denied their friendship. When the bullying finally goes too far, Sam must decide whether to stand up for him. It turns out to be anything but an ordinary day.
On the same night, students from CJCA performed ‘Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth’ by Kirsty Housley. During their GCSE drama exam, someone deliberately sets off an alarm, landing a group of students in detention. As they work through endless punishment tasks, they question who triggered the alarm, whether they’ll escape detention, and if their GCSE is at risk. The play shifts between classroom and theatre as the performers move in and out of character, examining Shakespeare, the literary canon, the education system, and theatre itself. Their exploration leads them to wonder whether the classics are truly timeless — or whether it’s time to tell new stories instead.
Both productions will be performed later this year on the professional stage at York Theatre Royal.
Over 250 youth theatre companies from every corner of the UK take part in the Connections Festival each year, providing opportunities for them to perform in professional, partner theatres. One production of each play will be selected to transfer to the NT Festival in London, the National Theatre’s annual, nationwide youth theatre festival. Over the years, Cockburn School have been chosen twice to take their play to London. We hope that this year, another Cockburn MAT academy gets to have this honour.
This post is based on a press release from Cockburn Multi-academy Trust
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