Headlines

Updated July 2022

The first Oval Games (July 2022)

Year 5 children from local primary schools took part in a range of sporting activities on the outfield of the Oval Cricket Ground.

The activities were led by our Sports Leaders; they are working towards a Sports Leader Award and used the Games as a chance to practice their leadership skills.

It is planned the the Oval Games is an annual event and is possible because of Surrey Cricket Club's commitment to partnership with the local community.

 

Duke of Edinburgh - Bronze Practice Expedition (June 2022)

Children in Year 9 headed to Essex for their first practice expedition and to put their map reading skills to the test.

The bronze expedition requires children to self navigate their way across open country side for two days with all of their equipment - which includes their food and the tent they need to sleep in.

 

Southwark Cathedral - Annual Concert (June 2022)

On Wednesday 15th June students performed at the Worshipful Company of Dyers' Annual Music concert. The performances included a drum recital and the school choir's version of Heather Small's Proud.

The Worshipful Company of Dyers provide generous support to the school; their support includes funding for the free music tuition which all children are entitled to when they join the school.

 

 

Founder's Day - 337 years old!! (March 2022)

On Friday 25th March students, staff and governors celebrated the Archbishop Thomas Tenison, who founded the school in 1685 at St Martin's in the Field, Trafalgar Square.

The highlight of the service was the many musical presentations by students. 

To find out more about the history of the school click here.

 

43 days to go (March 2022)

We launched our 'Habit of Success' programme with Year 11... they have their mock exams next week and then only 43 days of school to go before their first big exam.

Our programme consists of mentoring, revision classes and other activities outside of the classroom. But above all it is about focusing on the right habits that will lead to success.

 

Introducing... our new Head Boy and two Head Girls!

Shewa, Esosa and Mardiya were recently appointed as our Head Boy and Head Girls following an application process consisting of an application letter and an interview with a panel of Governors and other children.

All three impressed so much that the panel decided to create two Head Girl positions rather than just one!

All three are great tole models to other children. But what makes them really stand out is their sense of purpose; all three have clear ambitions for the future, to give back to their community and the determination to make their goals a reality.

 

English School Cross Country Cup (Oct 2021)

Four teams of runners took part in the first round of the English Schools Cross Country Cup; some great individual results should ensure the school move on to the next round.

Cross Country is one of many sports that the school competes in during the winter months.

 

Archbishop of Canterbury (Sept 2021)

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, came to school to meet children and lead worship.

Children in Year 11 were able to ask the Archbishop questions; as a result he shared the bible verse he turns to when he needs support as well as the challenges he faces in his role.

The Archbishop left the children with a strong message of being yourself rather than worrying about what we look or sound like.

 

Our British Values Activities Week (July 2021) 

After a challenging year, we were really keen to give our children an enriching and valuable 'Activities Week' to mark the end of term. The week was based on our personal development curriculum, and each activity that our children took part in was focused on British Values. Our children were based within their year groups to participate in the activities. We ran a range of workshops - both on site and around London - and worked with some of our brilliant charity partners. Mr Royes ran the trip to the Houses of Parliament and St. James' Park which was focused on the values of 'Individual Liberty' and 'Rule of Law'. It involved children learning about the history of British Law, and participating in a series of games led by Football Beyond Borders (see above).

Ms Joyce led the activity focused on 'Democracy' in which the charity BLAM and the Upfront Theatre Company ran sessions and an interactive play in the meeting rooms of the Oval Cricket Ground, exploring the importance of having a voice and standing up for what is right. On site, were also lucky enough to have the Boury Academy in to run gospel singing workshops and School Food Matters in to host a healthy eating workshop (see right). To read more about the success of this session click here. Both the cooking and singing sessions focused on 'Individual Liberty' and our children were shown the importance of choice.

The final part of our activities week was marked by our annual Sports Day led by Ms Francis. All year groups arrived at school bright and early to take the coach to Battersea Athletics Field. The sun shone throughout the day, and our children truly let their light's shine by competing excellently against each other in their Houses. York House were declared the winners and took the Sports Day trophy for the most points achieved (see right)!

By the end of Sports Day, it was clear that our children had enjoyed a brilliant week and were ready to start their summer holidays. We are so grateful to all involved for the work that was put in to ensuring that our 'British Values Activities Week' was such a success! We are excited for next year already!

 

Doing Justice (May 2021)

Year 10 children took part in the Doing Justice service on the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd.

After the service they were interviewed and asked to reflect on their experiences over the last year; they shared the work that had been done in school as well as their views on what needs to happen next.

For further details about how to watch the service click here.

 

Shortlisted for TES Award (May 2021)

It's been announced that Archbishop Tenison’s School has been shortlisted for the Community and Collaboration award.

Headteacher Simon Wilson said: “To be shortlisted for our collaboration with School Food Matters and Chefs in Schools is something that everybody connected with our school can feel proud of; it is recognition of how we live out our values as well as the efforts of everybody who selflessly gave their time to ensure children and their families at our school and those locally were able to eat healthy food throughout the toughest times of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

To read our press release:

press release tes award 140521.pdf

 

Year 11 children form judging panel for local planning initiative (May 2021) 

As a result of taking part in a planting project last summer, two of our Year 11 students - Jayden and Daniel - were invited by Councillor Claire Holland to be part of the virtual judging panel of a local planning initiative. Lambeth Council teamed up with Urban Growth, a social enterprise focused on creating and maintaining beautiful spaces in nature, to run a competition where members of the public could re-design parts of their local area. The competition was called 'Your Streets, Your Way', and members of the panel included local councillors and a representative from Arup, the engineering firm.

Daniel and Jayden were asked to decide the winning designs that of the Oval area. The judging criteria focused on four areas: its community value, the quality of the design, its contribution to a greener world and the practicality of the design. Our students were fabulous representatives of the school and truly let their light shine. After the panel, Daniel said: "Miss [this judging event] has made me realise that my voice can truly make a difference. My voice matters." We are incredibly proud of our student's participation in this project!

 

Year 7 children meet their local MP (May 2021)

Children in Year 7 wowed Florence Eshalomi, MP for Vauxhall, when she came to visit the schools. She met them to hear about their experience during the recent partial school closure and about how they have settled into school.

'What really impressed me' Florence said after meeting the Year 7 children, 'is just how well they have settled into the school despite the challenges over the last twelve months.'

The Year 7 children shared how they have been supported during the partial school closure, how they have made progress with their reading and how they have been able to build new friendships following their transition from primary school.

 

Investing in Communal Spaces (March 2021)

As a Church of England school, coming together as a community for worship is central to life at Archbishop Tenison's.

With the support of the Worshipful Company of Dyers, the school has been able to replace the seating in the Great Hall. 

Children and staff were thrilled with the improvements; one child in year 8 commented that not only do they look nice, "they're comfortable too!"

This investment follows work done to improve the school playgrounds and next month we will be refurbishing the school canteen.

 

Connecting with our School Community over Zoom! (Jan 2021)

Ms Fox invited all families in our school community to a Zoom meeting on Thursday 14th January, in order to explain our 'Remote Learning' offer. In addition, we were lucky enough to have Glyn Pickering, a Microsoft specialist who works at Derby College, present to parents and carers on how we use MS Teams as our remote learning platform, and the software's different features.

This was a huge success as we had over 65 families attend the Zoom meeting, and some really valuable discussions took place about how families can best support their children's learning. The fact that so many members of our school community attended this meeting is a real testament to the commitment of our families - a true example of our school's light shining. The meeting finished with a wonderful picture (see above), and many wonderful comments thanking our teachers for all their hard work, with one parent expressing: 'A huge thank you for keeping our children learning under such difficult circumstances. We really appreciate you.'

Despite the difficult times that we are currently facing, it was so wonderful to connect so widely with our community, and is something we hope to do again in the near future!

 

Interfaith Week! (November 2021)

Inter Faith Week took place from Sunday 8th November-Sunday 15th November. The aim of the week is to develop a better understanding between religious and non-religious people, and to celebrate all the of different faiths within the UK. Children at our school took part by learning about the Golden Rule that all religions share: 'treat others as you want to be treated', and reflecting on its importance within society. They then put their understanding of these shared values into hand print artwork, that has been put on display (see above). This display board emphasises the importance of the Archbishop Tenison's school as both a local, and a global, community.

We loved celebrating Inter Faith Week - a week that focuses on diversity, community and the importance of inter-faith dialogue. The message of society working together - both those religious and non-religious - for a better world, is a message we believe Jesus would've championed, as he regularly preached about 'loving they neighbour', and about the uniqueness of all of humankind.

 

Remembrance Day at Archbishop Tenison's School (November 2021) 

2020 has been a difficult year for so many families experiencing the loss of a loved one but we at Archbishop Tenison’s School commemorated the loss of those who gave their lives on behalf of the nation during World War I and II.

Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts.

This year Remembrance Day fell on Wednesday 11th November. Usually the whole school would hold a special service where ‘Old Tenisonians’ would be invited to take part in the ceremony, however, due to the coronavirus, services took place in classrooms with all forms reading testimonials, watching a short film explaining the meaning of the ceremony and then observing a 2 minute silence at 11am.

Let us hope that future generations ‘never forget…..’

 

Healthy Breakfasts (November 2021)

From Monday 11th November, children in Year 7, 8 and 9 were able to start their school day with a free breakfast; thanks to the school's charitable Foundation and well as School Food Matters.

The school has a strong reputation for providing support to families; over the summer the school distributed more than 4,000 meals in the local area.

'This was an obvious thing for us to do,' said Simon Wilson, the school's Headteacher. 'If children do not have a healthy start to their school day, it makes it very difficult for them to focus on their lessons.' 

This is another example of our school living our its Christian vision and ethos. By supporting our school community and giving our children the very best start to their day, we are supporting them to truly 'let their light shine before others.'

 

Archbishop Tenison's School scores with Street Soccer (October 2020)

 We really want to look after our students and continue to support them during this pandemic. We can’t wait to offer more opportunities like this next term, and we already have a Maths drop down day planned. A huge thank you to all our staff, the staff at Street Soccer and everyone who works at the Black Prince Community Centre for making this all possible. We are so glad that our students were able to have fun, work as a team, and to truly let their lights shine.

The Tatical Urbanistas bring our playground to life! (August 2020) 

On Saturday 22nd August, a number of our students worked alongside a group of local volunteers to transform our school playground! They all gave up their Saturday, put on their overalls, and began painting in a variety of different colours! The artwork in the playground, designed by two of our students, Princess and Jemima, is split into three parts, and connects in a triangular shape, referring to the fact that our school is situated within the Oval Triangle. The three designs include a focus on the importance of equality in the world, a game of star jumps and squats, and the love of basketball amongst our students.

One student said they had enjoyed the day because they "really loved getting to know the volunteers from the local community", with another noting that "it was great to see my designs being turned into artwork in the playground!"

Annie, one of the volunteers, said that she had loved the day of painting with our students because as a local resident, she was keen to "get more involved in the local community and its schools. Our volunteer group are interested in activating spaces by using colour. It was so great to get the children involved in designing the shapes and imagery!" 

To see more images of the brilliant transformation, and to keep up with the latest news from our school, check out our Twitter page. We are so grateful to the Tatical Urbanistas, and cannot wait to work with this volunteer group in future to add even more colour and vibrancy to our playground!

 

GCSE Results Day 2020 (August 2020)

Our GCSE Results Day was a wonderful celebration of the hard work, resilience, and talent shown by our 2020 cohort, throughout their time Archbishop Tenison's School. It was a day filled with donuts, balloons, and immense joy, as we were able to be together as a community once more, and celebrate Year 11's achievements.

The first student to arrive and receive his results was Brandon. He told teachers: "I will always cherish Tenison's as being one of the best experiences of my life. The teachers are inspiring and push you to be the best version of yourself. Thank you ATS!" 

Emmanuel (right) was really pleased with his results, and said "I think the thing I will miss most about Archbishop Tenison's is the teaching. All of the staff have gone beyond what they were supposed to in order for us to achieve the best we could."

Others remarked on how they will miss the "family" atmosphere of our  school, as it provides a "good support system".

Despite the challenging year that we have experienced, as a Church of England school we trust in God, and receive strength from Him. One of our school values is Hope, and in Jeremiah 29:11 it states: ' "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." '

Well done Year 11 - we are so proud of how much you have achieved, and the exceptional young people you have become. Remember to work hard, always believe in yourselves and continue to let your lights shine! Please do stay in touch - we cannot wait to hear all about your future successes as Tenisonians! 

 

Archbishop Tenison's School Alumni achieves a place at Oxbridge! (August 2020)

We are so proud of our ex-student Emmanuel (pictured right) who has achieved his place at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, to study Philosophy. Emmanuel's talent and love of religion, philosophy and ethics were clear from early on in his school career. Ms Fox, who taught him throughout his GCSE, remarked: "Emmanuel was a great thinker; he would always ask questions and then develop his questioning within his writing. His high-level thinking would push the whole class!" He achieved a grade 9 at GCSE at our school in 2018, and went on to Bishop Thomas Grant to continue his studies for Sixth Form. 

He said that studying Religious Studies at Archbishop Tenison's School "definitely helped me find my passion for philosophy. The teachers found very abstract ways to make it exciting and worthwhile to learn RS. They’re so supportive and knowledgeable which really helped me in my studies and exams. Easily the most fun I’ve had learning any subject in school!" 

This is a clear example of Emmanuel living out our school vision of Matthew 5:16 as he has truly 'let his light shine' by working hard to achieve his university place. We are looking forward to having Emmanuel back at Christmas to inspire our students by hosting a talk on his passion for philosophy and his life at the University of Cambridge! 

 

Father Nature at Archbishop Tenison's School (July 2020) 

We are so grateful to Father Nature for planting a beautiful selection of flowers at the main entrance of our school. This has transformed the space, and the flower colours of red, white and blue, match those of our new school wall signs. 

Father Nature is a community landscape and gardening company, and are driven by the belief that everyone should have access to green space and nature; as a place to grow, learn and play in. We first met them in June, when our students were involved in the Community Planting Session on Claylands Road, with local residents and Lambeth's Councillor Claire Holland.  

We will be watering these flowers over the summer, and are looking forward to seeing them bloom in September, ready for the return of our children to school!

 

Summer Lunches (July 2020) 

We are so proud that Chefs in Schools have chosen to use our school premises as a ‘hub school’ to prepare, cook and host their school lunch service. The charity, whose motto is that 'no child should go hungry due to COVID-19', are sponsored by Guys and St. Thomas’ Charity. They fund volunteer professional chefs to provide healthy vegetarian lunches weekly, a programme that will continue to run over the summer holidays. Using an incredible range of high quality surplus fruit and vegetables such as fresh peaches and sweetcorn, the team has devised a tailored menu to ensure that the meals are both delicious and nutritionally balanced. 

In our first week as a hub school, the students and families of Archbishop Tenison’s will be the lucky recipients of these lunches. However, the plan is to scale up the initiative so that other local families with pupils at nearby primary schools can also benefit. Headteacher Simon Wilson said: "As a Church of England school, serving the community is at the heart of what we do. We are so grateful for this opportunity from Chefs In Schools as we know it will make a real difference during this difficult time."

 

Chefs in Schools (July 2020)

Archbishop Tenison's have teamed up with Chefs in Schools to increase the support for our families. Chefs in Schools are committed to making sure no child should go hungry during the current health pandemic, and therefore are working with restaurants and schools in order to provide 20,000 quality meals to families. We are really pleased to announce that Archbishop Tenison's School has become a 'hub' school!

This week the meals have been designed by chefs at Hawksmoor restaurant.

To find out more details about how you can access meals or support, please contact the school office.

 

Community Planting (June 2020)

We are proud that our students have let their 'lights shine before others' by helping make the streets around the school safer for the whole community. Three of our Year 10s took part in a community planting session, directed by gardening charity Father Nature and in the presence of Councillor Claire Holland, Lambeth Cabinet Lead for Sustainable Transport, Environment and Clear Air, as well as many local residents.

It was a great opportunity for our students to learn a little about gardening and ways of improving the environment, with one student being particularly interested in the use of surface wood chippings in order to maximise water retention. One student commented: "I was privileged to go on the trip for planting, and it was a great experience. I was able to show wisdom through listening and learning how to plant properly, as it was my first time!"

Councillor Holland said it was "it was awesome having students from Archbishop's Tenison's taking part in the planting of our beautiful planters in the Oval to Stockwell Triangle low traffic neighbourhood". 

Academic Key Stage 4 Lead, Julie Joyce said: "I loved every minute, it was so lovely to see them working hard as global citizens within their community - they are really demonstrating their stewardship of God's creation."

 

Black Lives Matter (June 2020)

As part of the school's on-line learning offer, our students have been given the opportunity to express their views on recent events and have a voice in their community. Students have begun to create images, write essays and explore other creative mediums.

'It is so important that our community know that we believe Black Lives Matter' said Simon Wilson, Headteacher. 'This curriculum project has really engaged our students and has made many of them feel less isolated and frustrated with what they are seeing and reading  in the media.'

To find out more, click here. 

Our Wonderful Online Work (June 2020)

Every term we reward our students for the way that they have shown our four values of Hope, Wisdom, Community and Dignity. Students then log this in their rewards book which leads to them being able to get their bronze, silver or gold Tenison's Award, at a presentation evening later
in the school year.

Despite this challenging time, students have continued to produce wonderful work, and have been rewarded for their excellent effort in their online learning across all subjects. One of our winners in Year 10 was awarded a certificate for demonstrating hope in her poignant and beautifully written description of suffering for her Religious Studies GCSE work on Good and Evil. She wrote: 'suffering makes us appreciate the good things in life, it's like the the dark with a light. The darker it is, the brighter the light.' 

We are so proud of the resilience that our students have shown at this time, and the know that they will continue to live out our values in their independent learning, enabling them to continue to letting their lights shine as they move towards their next academic year at our school. 

 

Getting Ready For Our New Year 7s (May 2020)  

This week we have been in contact with the children who will be joining our Year 7 in September - we cannot wait to meet you!

All the children have received as copy of Wonder which we have chosen to base our transition project around; click here to see the first activity to get children ready for their new school.

Our new Year 7 children will also have the opportunity to have free music lessons for the first year.

If you would like your child to join our school, get in contact with the school straight away.

 

Breakfast Boxes for Children (May 2020)

The school value of community has been shown through the school teaming up with the 'School Food Matters' charity to provide free breakfast boxes for our students. Members of staff volunteered to put together food boxes including baked beans, a loaf of bread, 2 pints of milk, cereal, and a selection of fruit.

The boxes are designed to provide two weeks worth of nourishing and healthy breakfasts for a each child. This forms part of the school's plans to support families that may be facing financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Mr Wilson, Headteacher expressed his gratitude to the charity, saying "with Free School Matters help, we have been able to provide much needed support to 50 of our students and their families."

"This is another example of our school's determination to live out its  vision from Matthew 5:16 of letting our 'lights shine' in order to 'glorify your Father in Heaven'. Our community of students and their families are in our hearts and prayers as we look to God for strength at this difficult time." 

 

Laptops for Children (May 2020)

The school has begun to provide laptops to children who are not able to access the school's learning platform from home.  

The laptops have been funded by the Worshipful Company of Dyers and are central to the school's plans to reduce the risk of children falling significantly behind as a result of the forced closure. This is an example of our school partnerships helping us to put our faith into action and live out our vision of Matthew 5:16: for every child to let their lights shine in order to 'glorify our Father in Heaven.' 

"We're very grateful to the Worshipful Company of Dyers," SIAMS Leader, Miss Gregory said. "Not every family has a computer and these laptops will make a massive difference." One student expressed his appreciation that the company had shown 'hope in his future' by providing these laptops.

 

Lockdown Reading (May 2020)

As part of our digital classroom, we have launched a series of videos featuring members of staff, children and friends of the school reading chapters from our favourite books.

The first book is Louis Sachar's Holes and the video of every chapter being read will be available on our website.

The first chapter is read by our Headteacher and can be watched by clicking here.

 

Virtual Act of Worship (April 2020)

 

GCSE Mock Art Exam (March 2020)

Year 11 recently spent an uninterrupted day in the Art studio working on their main pieces. The studio is at the top of the school and boasts incredible natural light and phenomenal views across London.

GCSE art required students to develop three projects; each project requires research of artists and techniques before developing a main piece of their own.

 

Introducing the Sports Leaders (March 2020)

Following the successful completion of the Level 1 Sports Leader Award, a group of students were given the opportunity to demonstrate what they had learnt and introduced badminton to students at local primary schools.

The badminton session was supported by Badminton England who said that they were really impressed with our students; 'they were great with the primary kids and were excellent role models.'

To find out more about our Sports Leader click here.

 

Shining the Light through our new Reward Cards (March 2020)

The recently launched Reward Cards have been positively received by students, who believe it helps them to focus in lessons and try harder. 

Ira in Year 8 said she loves the reward cards because: 'they remind us of our values and and really acknowledges the good things that we have done.'

Stephane in Year 7, who received an incredible 11 cards in the first week, agreed. He said that the cards 'show off the school's potential' and he feels proud taking them home to show his Mum.

 

World Book Day (March 2020)

Staff and students celebrated World Book Day, and their love of reading, by dressing up as their favourite fictional characters.

The most popular characters included Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

 

 Students visit WE Day at Wembley Arena (March 2020)

Students took part in WE day as a reward for their work in the FirstGive charity project.

The FirstGive project allows students to compete to raise money for local charities and live out the school vision of letting their light shine before others. The winning group are able to donate £1000 for a local charity of their choice; a clear example of students' good works glorifying our Father in Heaven.

The project has been running for three years and has supported the Vauxhall Foodbank and Brixton's Raw Materials music project.

 

Tenison Award Presentation Evening (Feb 2020)

The first cohort of students were presented with their Tenison Awards at a special presentation evening at the Foundry Conference Centre.

Azeez Omolewa in Year 10, who received a Gold Award for demonstrating the school's values of Wisdom, Hope, Community and Dignity, said 'I really liked how the awards evening brought together members of the school community.'

Guests at the presentation evening included representatives from all of the school's partners, friends and supporters and they were able to see the impact of the school's wide ranging extra curricular programme.

For further information regarding the Tenison Award click here.

 

Penguin Brings Author to School (February 2020)

Students were given the opportunity to listen to a conversation between American life coach Marie Forleo and author of Skint Estate Cash Carraway in a unique programme supported by Penguin books.

As part of the event students were able to ask questions and received copies of the author's books.

 

Level 1 Sports Leader Award (February 2020)

A collection of Year 8, 9 and 10 students gave up their half term to complete their Level 1 Sports Leader Award; and were treated to an inspirational presentation from former professional footballer Craig McManus.

The award develops leadership skills and builds confidence; the students will have the chance to demonstrate these by leading sport activities for younger students in the coming months.

 

Speaking Out!! (February 2020)

 Year 10 Speak Out finalists performed their speeches in front of their peers; hoping to go through to the regional final.

The Speak Out programme is organised by the Jack Petchey Foundation and gives children experience of developing and delivering a speech on a subject of their choice.

 

Humza Arshad Surprises Year 9 and 10 (February 2020)

As part of a Department for Education 16 school national tour, famous You-Tuber and creator of Diary of a Badman Humza Arshad visited the school to promote his new video HATE.

The hard-hitting video tackles knife crime and radicalisation and will be released on Monday 10th February.

Students heard Humza's experiences of growing up in London and the dangers of radicalisation and knife crime and were able to ask questions about his career and his relationship with global sports brand Nike!

 

Anti-Bullying Ambassadors (January 2020)

Following training provided by The Diana Award, students in Year 9 and 10 have become our school Anti-Bullying Ambassadors.

The ambassadors, who have been equipped with the skills to tackle bullying head on, are part of our commitment to ensure bullying is not tolerated at Archbishop Tenison's School.

 

Playground Development (December 2019)

As part of the school's relationship with the construction firm MACE, members of the school community spent the day with a team of architects and engineers to develop a vision for what the school playground should look like.

The construction of the new playground is expected to be ready by Easter 2020. 

 

New Behaviour Policy (November 2019)

Following the student voice exercise on behaviour, the school has launched its new Behaviour system. 

The school staff will adopt the 'C' language and issue C1s and C2s as warnings and C3s if appropriate; the C3 will result in a detention that night and is our commitment to ensure no lessons will ever be disrupted by others.