Lord Mayor’s Show Update Mr Davies, Senior Vice Principal

With only three weeks to go until the big day, preparations to get our float ready for this year’s Lord Mayor’s Show are reaching fever pitch. The Arts faculty is working flat out to finish the various costumes, banners, flags and models we need for the procession. The centrepiece of our part of the show will be the fire breathing CoLA Dragon which is slowly taking shape in its lair deep in the bowels of the Academy (which we all formerly thought was the car park).

We have recruited the help of year 5 pupils from Ilderton and St James primary schools in making our float and these children will also be taking part in the procession. CoLA students are pitching in to help with all aspects of the construction work and I’ve seen some great costume replicas of famous city buildings. One to look out for on the day is the Lloyds building in the form of a back-pack.

The procession sets off from Guildhall at 10:30am, moves along Poultry and Cheapside, past St Paul’s down Ludgate Hill to Fleet Street and on to the Strand. It returns at 1:00pm along the same route back to Guildhall. So, remember to put Saturday 14th November into your diaries and to come along to the City and support our float in the procession.

If any parents or guardians would like to give us a hand with the building of the float or making the costumes, flags and banners please call me, Dave Davies Senior Vice Principal at the Academy on 020 7394 5100.

On Wednesday, a group of year 8 students took a trip to Z Yen, a think-tank company whose offices are right next to the 30 Mary Axe in the City of London. 30 Mare Axe is, of course, usually known as The Gherkin. The students then spent the afternoon at UBS, where they interviewed employees and then gave a presentation. Andre, Alvieve and Omar won the award for the best presentation and are going to be competing in a regional final!! Very exciting!

Congratulations to students Tim, Amine, Jamie, Aaron, Alvieve, Agnes, Ilhan, Mollie, Jessica, Andre, Omar, Jordan and Peter. They were all fantastic!!

Well done to the 39 year 9 pupils who went Normandy for the week of 12th-16th October. They all behave superbly and tried really hard to use their French and adapt to the culture. They were even brave enough to taste snails!

A big, big thank you to the great team of staff that came with us on the trip: Miss Bouchy, Mr Burgess and Miss Cauchie! As you can see, the whole team were completely exhausted after the hectic week.

Pupils from City Academy have helped to create the new sculpture for Paterson Park. Local blacksmith Kevin Boys set up a mobile forge in the school yard where all participants had an opportunity to twist and turn the iron bars into butterflies and bees. All the elements created will form part of a larger artwork for three entrances of Paterson park – to be revealed in a month’s time.

The urban park has recently achieved a Green Flag Award thanks to Southwark Council's Cleaner Greener Safer funding, which helped towards creating these workshops for young people. Thanks also goes to teachers from the academy’s design and technology department, who supported pupils with gaining the unique experience of blacksmiths at work, developing a skill dating back hundreds of years.

Year 9 and year 11 both played against Bacons College last Tuesday in the Academy Cup. It was a really good day and the weather held out which was helpful! Last year we failed to win a match – but it was all change this year!

both teams were an absolute credit to themselves and the school. Year 9 (with most of the team in France) won their first match, but then unfortunately lost their other matches by single goals.

Year 11 had a shaky start, losing the first two matches; but then they won their remaining four matches, all by very comfortable margins.

All the players did really well, and made a showing they can be proud of. The two players who really stood out, though, were Shamika, Year 9, and Edie Byrne, year 11. Well done, girls!

An Indian summer glow beset Burgess Park as the Year 8 team prepared to play the first of their two matches. We had arrived in plenty of time in order to include some tackle practice; tackling is a skill somewhat unfamiliar to our players as they are denied the luxury of grass at their home training facility. Egged on by shouts of "get low" and "take the legs" by training assistant Marcus and Mr Clifford, they adapted quickly and were soon smashing into the tackle bags with gusto.

Then came the matches themselves. The first was against St Thomas the Apostle, a very strong side. A large part of the action happened in the middle of the park, which gave us a chance to exercise our developing tackling skills. Afeez, Omar and Emmanuel all tried very hard to break the deadlock, and Muctar nearly did! He was unlucky to be bundled into touch 5metres from the opposition line. Unfortunately the St Thomas team proved too strong, and we lost by a single try.

The second match was against Sacred Heart, and we won by 15 points to 5. The game started with Jahmel and Dubem spoiling for possession which we soon got. With the ball in our hands we soon achieved two tries, both by Vincent Ellis. Dubem and Emmanuel kept up the pressure in the centre, and set up the third try from Muctar. Despite Sacred heart getting back one try, the match ended with a convincing win for CoLA.

Well done to all the players for demonstrating tight teamwork good planning on the day.

Year 8 & 9 students have an important business test after half term, which they should spend some of the half term revising for. They have all been given a revision booklet with all the information they need, and practise questions for each topic. There is a space for their parents to sign that their children have completed or at least attempted the questions for each topic. It’s important that you take a few minutes during half term to make sure you are ready for the coming test.

The Shakespeare School Festival sees COLA make its debut this year, one of 500 schools across the country performing Shakespeare's greatest works. Students from Years 9 to 11 have been working exceptionally hard to bring The Tempest to life, and are set to perform at the Unicorn Theatre near London Bridge on Tuesday 3rd November. The evening's performances begins at 7pm, tickets are priced at £7.50 adults and £5.50 concessions and are available from the Unicorn box office on 020 7645 0560. Alternatively, students can come and see a preview of the performance in GD6 at the Academy on Monday 2nd November at 4pm, absolutely free!

"Alas, the storm is come again!"

Are you a Darren Shan fan?! If so, then you must check out the new film 'The Vampire's Assistant' out Friday, 23 October. The film is based off of Shan's suspenseful book series, 'The Cirque Du Freak Saga' and is just right to get you in the mood for Halloween!