Yousuf’s Yearly Summary

A new school. A raging pandemic. A set of mock exams. This year has been a year full of adventure and surprises for the students of our school...

Last September, we were welcomed to our much-awaited permanent campus on Baldwins Lane and were finally allowed to enjoy the various facilities onsite. From its plethora of science labs, to the state-of-the-art technology suites, and its custom built drama hall, we were excitedly looking forward to making use of all the great facilities on offer.

Visitors to our school will find that the library is a central point located at the heart of the building, and that the colour-coded corridors highlight each subject area as you walk around. The Maths and English departments are fitted with computer suites which have allowed the teachers to enhance our learning across the curriculum. In the near future, we hope to enjoy many more sports on the multitude of fields that are currently being constructed, and the many more amenities that will be added to our school.

The global pandemic has brought the world together, in terms of cooperation, but it has also forced us apart. Due to the lockdown measures that have taken place, our school, like others, had to ‘take to the screens’. It was an ‘exhilarating’ task, overcoming the challenges of poor Wi-Fi connections and lagging lessons, and this greatly impeded the fluidity of the ongoing GCSE Courses. Despite this, all of us were able to pull together and persevere till the end of the lockdown which signalled a return to school and a path towards normality.

Throughout the year we students were afforded chances to take part in many enriching and unique events. The Year 9 and 10 Students completed, or are close to completing, the Duke of Edinburgh Award, where we had to do between 6 – 9 months of a physical activity, a voluntary activity, and a skill-based activity. In addition, we needed to do an overnight expedition, however, in keeping with the current restrictions, we returned home instead of camping overnight.

9 students in Year 10 had the opportunity to participate in a university-program called the Brilliant Club. This gave us an opportunity to understand and experience what university life with its lectures and classes would be like. Towards the end of the course, we were challenged with the task of writing an extended essay about Sustainable Tourism for a case study of our choice. We explored a variety of locations; from the simplistic beauty of the Lake District, to the exotic islands of Cape Verde, to the bustling and evolving urban landscape of Dubai. We achieved high grades of ‘Firsts’ and ‘2:1s’ and enjoyed a mini graduation with our parents to finish off the program.

Recently, the first cohort of students of Croxley Danes have completed the inaugural set of GCSE Mock Exams. This period has not been easy, but we all pushed through. Each subject’s exam was unique, and this mock period allowed us to get a taste of what to expect at the end of our GCSE Courses.

Thankfully, we have made it; made it to the end of this year. Next year may be the final year at Croxley Danes for some of us, but we cannot wait to see what further adventures and surprises will cross our paths.