Year 12 Visit Number 10 

A rare opportunity arose through our constituent office for a select group of Year 12 Politics students to Number 10 Downing Street to get a tour of the building in May.

We were ushered through the gates into Downing Street (under strict instructions not to interact with the hoards of press on the doorstep), and across the famous threshold!

Inside, we were treated to a tour of the building led by a lady who had worked for the Labour Party since the 1980s and had a wealth of excellent stories about Downing Street in the New Labour years – not the least meeting the Queen and the Gallagher brothers at the ‘Cool Britannia’ 1997 party!

Other highlights included sitting round the Cabinet table and positioning ourselves as the would-be Prime Minister, Chancellor, Foreign Secretary etc.; seeing the amazing artwork and memorabilia in the building (the rule is to save the Turners before the PM in a fire), the famous staircase with the prime ministerial portraits, and seeing where all the COVID-19 press announcements took place from.

The students asked some brilliant questions and got to hear about various graduate roles in politics from our two talented constituent officers who accompanied the trip.

Safe to say, the visit to the centre of power in the UK will stay with us for a long time!

Visit to London College of Music

This Thursday a group of 15 students attended a very exciting musical opportunity. Mr Cambata took them to the London College of Music (LCM), which is part of the University of West London, to be shown around the Townshend Studio. It only opened a year ago within the university and has an array of classic analogue and digital synths the students are allowed to use. All of these instruments were donated by The Who’s guitarist Pete Townshend, who is an alumni of the university.

Click on the link for an in-depth look at the Townshend studio.

We would like to thank sound engineer and LCM lecturer Theo Sofowote for facilitating our visit. He explained the history of some of the equipment and demonstrated how synthesizers work to create sound. The students had the chance to play on an omnichord which was then MIDI through a classic Yamaha DX-1, a digital synthesizer described as the "King of digital synthesis".

They also got to see classic synths such as the Roland Jupiter 8, Prophet 10 and an extremely rare Yamaha GX-1. Only 150 were ever manufactured and they cost around 200K. They were allowed to touch a Fender Rhodes that was previously owned by Stevie Wonder for a European tour. Pete Townsend purchased the instrument after Stevie did not want to ship it back to the States.

We would like to thank LCM and especially Theo for the opportunity and look forward to the future where we will be creating musical partnerships with UWL.

Debate Mate Cup Final

This week, four Year 10 Students went to the Debate Mate Cup Final. Out of hundreds of schools and thousands of students across the country, our team of debaters made it to the top 9 teams having won their national heat earlier in April. They debated in two debates against some fierce competition, discussing the relative benefits of apprenticeships versus university as well as how to handle the AI revolution. The day itself was held in the incredible Salesforce Tower on the 36th floor, giving our students a feel for the corporate life including a paid for lunch which is always a plus! There was a talk on AI where students asked some tough questions and also learnt more about what Salesforce do.

Although we did not win overall, we had a fun day, meeting lots of students from across the country and overall, it was a great experience. Big congratulations to the team and we hope that you will continue with your debating career in the future!

Ms McDade

Parent Governor Election

We have 2 vacancies for a Parent Governor on the school’s Governing Body, which is made up of 18 members including foundation, staff, and Parent Governors. There are four Parent Governors in total, and this is an opportunity to join them in helping shape the future of the school. At CSG, we are committed to building a diverse and representative Governing Body. We particularly encourage applications from under-represented communities, especially parents from Bengali and Somali backgrounds.

What Does a Parent Governor Do?

Parent Governors are elected by the parents and carers of students currently registered at the school and serve a four-year term. While most parents are eligible to stand and vote, there are some restrictions. You can check the eligibility criteria here.

The Governing Body works in a supportive and collaborative way, with a shared commitment to the success and wellbeing of the school. Our three main responsibilities are:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Holding the Headteacher to account for the school’s educational performance;
• Overseeing financial performance and ensuring funds are well spent.

​Time Commitment

• Full Governing Body Meetings: Twice per term (Autumn term), once per term (Spring), twice per term (Summer Term) from 08:00-10:00am.
• Committee Membership: Each governor joins one of the two standing committees, which meet virtually (via Google Meet) from 8:00–9:00 am once or occasionally twice per term.
• Link Roles: Governors are connected to a specific subject or policy area, making at least one visit per year and contributing to policy reviews or updates.
• Training: New governors are expected to attend induction training and participate in other relevant training.

Meeting papers are shared a week in advance, and governors may occasionally be consulted by email on urgent matters.

 

How to Apply or Nominate

If you are interested in becoming a parent governor—or would like to nominate another parent—you’ll need to complete a nomination form. Self-nominations are welcome. Each nomination must be signed by the nominee, a proposer, and a seconder.

Nomination Form

Please return completed nomination forms and a short personal statement to the school by midday on Friday 19 June, either by email or by post, addressed to: Duska Cutler, Clerk to the Governors 

If we receive more than one nomination, we will hold an election and all families will be invited to vote.

If you would like more information about the role, feel free to contact me directly.

Duska Cutler
dcutler@csg.school (available Mondays and Wednesdays)
Clerk to the Governors

If you need help translating this information, please contact the school office.

You can drop off your donation at the Reception.
Collection from CSG on Tuesday, 14 July.