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Monday 13 November 2023 Armistice Day - lest we forget To celebrate Armistice Day, as a school we have put on various activities to remember the millions upon millions of soldiers and civilians killed during the First World War. During the week students have been in the library creating Remembrance Day2023 bookmarks using Poppies. The school library was also a hub of celebration with poster displayed in the rooms. On the 10th November, there was a 2 minutes silence at 11am to mark Remembrance Day. The 2 minutes silence will start with "The Last Post" played by Luis (Year 12) and at the end there was a short piece "Reveille" to mark the end of the 2 minutes silence. Our CCF Navy Cadets were very busy during Remembrance week attending the Remembrance Day Service at City Hall, with the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in attendance. They also attended the Streatham Remembrance Service
Monday 16 October 2023 Celebrating Black History Month, with our Alumni Every year, during the celebration of Black History Month, we have the privilege of welcoming a group of esteemed La Retraite Alumni to our institution for a meaningful Q&A session with our students. This unique event provides an invaluable platform for these accomplished individuals to share their insights and experiences on the journey of being young, modern, and dynamic Black Christian women. In our most recent gathering, we had the honor of hosting five extraordinary women who added a touch of brilliance to our Black History Month festivities: Angel Adjei - An accomplished Product Manager within the tech industry with a passion in education. Isabel Anchebe - A distinguished Associate Director who leads the European Compliance division. Vida M. Adaah - A highly regarded Senior Associate Counsel, bringing her legal expertise to the forefront. Ranti Adeyemi - A Senior Caseworker and a proficient Professional Makeup Artist, exemplifying versatility in her career pursuits
Wednesday 11 October 2023 US Embassy Visit To Celebrate ‘International Day of the Girl Child’ in October, ten KS4 and KS5 students were invited to the US Embassy. The students took part in a Q&A session with the US Ambassador and two senior members of staff at the US Embassy. This is the second occasion that La Retraite students have had the opportunity to meet with the US Ambassador and we hope to maintain a special relationship with Ambassador Jane Hartley. Tsion (Year 12) has written an extract about our visit:
Thursday 28 September 2023 CCF Cadets attend the annual Soldering on Awards 2023 On Wednesday 27th September Our CCF Cadets were given the opportunity to attend the annual prestigious Soldering awards, held at The Park Plaza, Westminster Bridge. This is the 13th Year of the event held annually to celebrate outstanding achievements within the whole Armed Forces community, and contributions made by members. The event showcased 12 different categories, in which a winner was announced in each. Along with entertainment, speeches and live performances. The event was hosted by Presenter and Journalist Jeremy Vine. The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Johnny Mercer MP, opened the awards announcement and spoke about the theme surrounding this year’s event. Also speaking and in attendance on the night were Chief of Defence People, Vice Admiral Phil Hally CB MBE, Soldiering On Awards Co-Chair of Judges, General the Lord Dannatt GCB, CBE, MC, DL, Lt Col Ren Kapur MBE, Chief Executive of X-Forces Enterprise and Soldiering on Awards, with video link appearances by adventu
Thursday 24 August 2023 GCSE Results Day 2023 Congratulations to our Year 11 Students, who have achieved exceptional results in their GCSE’s with a great outcome. We are proud to see a year on year growth in GCSE’s with some impressive individual achievements. Subject highlights and spectacular individual performances include: 85% of students achieved Grade 4 + in English 75% of students achieved Grade 5+ in English 75% of students achieved Grade 4+ in Maths 62% of students achieved Grade 5+ in Maths 59% of students achieved Grade 5 + in English & Maths
Friday 21 July 2023 Sports day and Cultural Day The last few weeks of term, saw a number of activities taking place. Both students and staff were heavily involved wth the planning and preparation of Sports day. Despite the weather the La Retraite sports day was off to a great start. We headed to Tooting athletics track to start the events.
Thursday 20 July 2023 La Retraite Choir takes on Paris As we come to the end of the school year, the Summer term has been very busy with various activities, trips and events. We are delighted to share with you the incredible adventures of the Tour Choir during their trip to the enchanting city of Paris. Departing in the early hours of July 4th, at the crack of dawn, our intrepid singers embarked on a memorable journey aboard a coach. The eight-hour ride to Paris left our pupils exhausted, but their spirits were instantly rejuvenated as they arrived at their hotel just outside the city. The tour began with a magnificent river cruise, allowing students to soak in the breathtaking sights of Paris. As the boat glided along the Seine, they marvelled at the iconic Eiffel Tower and the renowned Musée d'Orsay. Our talented choir members had the privilege of showcasing their vocal skills at the magnificent Church of Saint-Étiennedu-Mont. The performance featured a diverse repertoire, including moving, renditions of "The Lord is my Shepherd" an
Friday 14 July 2023 Summer Term Concert 2023 The Summer ended on a great note as we invited the families of our school community, into school to watch our summer concert. Both staff and students put a lot of preparation and planning in place to ensure that the concert was greatly received. Students and staff attended weekly rehearsals in preparation for the big day. On the day of the concert despite the nerves students pulled off an amazing event. The choirs, orchestra, conductors all did an amazing job. Attendees were amazed at how well the concert was performed with many stating that It was a real pleasure listening to such wonderful pieces of music, from tour choir to solos and band performances, gospel choir the quality of the music is really impressive” We look forward to welcoming more families to our next concert in the Autumn Term
Monday 12 June 2023 Celebrating British Flowers Week 2023 Students attended the Garden Museum for the second time this year, by invite to celebrate British Flowers Week 2023. Students were amazed at the wonderful flower exhibition celebrating British grown flowers, sustainable floristry and the diverse talent in floral design found across the country. Students took part in a cooking session led by Ceri, the Garden Museum Food Educator this involved, cooking risotto, baking garlic bread, and making chocolate cupcakes all whilst incorporating edible flowers into the ingredients. The Queen visited the Garden Museum to open the exhibition, and came into the cooking session and asked students questions about the activity they were doing, even suggesting that she hoped to see them on future episodes of Masterchef. Students enjoyed the day and can't wait to visit the museum again!
Thursday 11 May 2023 Lambeth Schools Under 14 Football Tournament La Retraite Year 9 showcased their talent and resilience in the Lambeth Schools' U14 Football Tournament held at Ferndale, Brixton, on Wednesday, 10th May 2023. Fourteen teams from various schools participated in the highly anticipated 7-aside competition. Despite facing an initial setback, La Retraite's U14 team, comprising of Kimaya, Louise Myra, Amaiya, Julie, Quaisi-Ann, and Anna, rose above their nerves and displayed an outstanding performance throughout the tournament, ultimately securing victory
Friday 5 May 2023 Lambeth Schools Athletics Championships 2023 The Lambeth Schools Athletics Championship took place on Thursday, May 4th, 2023, at Tooting Bec Athletics Track. The event saw the participation of 14 schools, and the weather conditions were ideal for the athletes. La Retraite students demonstrated their true athleticism and put up a great show at the championship. The school took 52 athletes to the event, and they all performed exceptionally well. In the Year 7 category, Erych and Zainab both secured the 3rd place finishes in the hurdles. Amelia and Maya also gave an impressive performance, both gaining 3rd place in the 1500m. Elisha secured 2nd place in the 300m. Gillian and Letizia gave a great performance in the jumps and throws, respectively. The relay teams also put up an impressive show, with the Year 7 team consisting of Kourtney, Tayo, Mandisa, and Sydney securing 3rd place. There were also many other notable achievements from students of different year groups. Niamh and Kaila from Year 8 performed well in the 1
Wednesday 19 April 2023 Debate Mate Cup On Tuesday 18th April, students from Year 9 and 10 participated in the Debate Mate Cup at Imperial College London. There were three rounds of debate, on topics including strike action, plastic surgery, an whether or not everyone should go to university. Both teams did incredibly well, with our Year 10 team narrowly missing out on the final coming in 3rd place overall out of 32 teams - a fantastic achievement.
Monday 27 March 2023 Junior Gymnastics On Tuesday 21st March, the Junior Gymnasts from La Retraite in years 7 and 8 demonstrated their unwavering commitment and dedication to their sport by putting on a spectacular performance for the students at St Bernadette’s Primary School. The girls' routines were a combination of floor work and spring board somersaults, which were executed with precision and grace. Their outstanding performance was a testament to their hard work and dedication, having trained every Wednesday morning at the gymnastics club starting from 7:45. The team comprised of Chinedum and Niamh as the captains, and Erych, Rhianna, Shari, Matilda, Kaila Owusu, and Aislinne from year 7 and year 8, respectively, as well as Nataysia,. The routine was choreographed with the help of Stephanie, and the team also generously gave a brief gymnastics taster session to the pupils from St Bernadette’s, highlighting their commitment to spreading their passion for gymnastics to others.
Friday 24 March 2023 Spring Concert 2023 On Wednesday 22nd March we held our Spring term Concert. All Year groups took part and Parents /families were invited to watch the concert. There were great performances by The Tour choir, Gospel choir, Junior Choir and the Orchestra. Choral Conductor, Jonathan Schranz led the students in their performance. It was a special afternoon with a wonderful atmosphere. Well done to all the students and staff that took part.
Monday 13 March 2023 La Retraite does Salsa! Here at La Retraite School we believe our Students should embrace different Cultures and Customs. One way we have incorporated this is by introducing a Salsa club. The Salsa club has successfully been running since last term. It is a very inclusive environment where students can express themselves through dance, but also get the chance to learn about different cultures
Wednesday 8 March 2023 Celebrating International Women's Day We were delighted to welcome Surgeon Cadre Fleur Marshall and CPO Janine Potts from the Royal Navy to La Retraite School. Surgeon Cadre Fleur Marshall and CPO Janine Potts talked to our Year 8 Year 10 and the Royal Navy Cadet students about their career in the Royal Navy, how they embarked on their career and what it feels like to be a Woman in the Royal Navy. The students had the opportunity to ask questions which they found insightful. Surgeon Cadre Fleur Marshall and CPO Janine Potts were really inspirational, they provided an insight to what might be achieved by young women with determination, aspiration and hard work.
Tuesday 28 February 2023 It's All Go for Sports The PE Department have been very busy with students taking part in various activities this term. Year 7 took part in a netball tournament at Streatham and Clapham High School, La Retraite had two teams representing the school with one of our teams coming second overall, all teams played exceptionally well, well done to all that took part. Congratulations to three of our students, that were selected to represent Lambeth in the London Youth Games!
Monday 13 February 2023 Trip to Auschwitz with The Holocaust Education Trust. On Tuesday 2nd February 2 Year 12 history students: Chloe and Fatimah, took part in a series of seminars organised by the Holocaust Education Trust which included a one-day visit to the Nazi death camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The aim of the course is to increase knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust for young people and to clearly highlight what can happen if prejudice and racism become acceptable. Here are some of the reflections from the Students: Chloe: I thought it was a very special opportunity where I learned many new things. It was definitely unsettling at times but interesting too. Seeing things such as the victim's shoes, glasses and even hair really hit me, and it was surreal seeing the sheer scale of the camps. Being able to see it in real life was definitely different experience than simply seeing it in textbooks and it allows you to properly acknowledge the extent of death and loss that happened in the very place I was standing which was quite emotional. Fa
Thursday 9 February 2023 Sheriff's Challenge 2023 Year 12 politics students entered the prestigious Sheriff's’ Challenge 2023 and debated the following topic: Post-Covid, the City will change beyond all recognition” The Sheriffs’ Challenge offers students in London schools a chance to hone their public speaking skills by delivering a team-work presentation, competitively, on a topic relating to the City of London or the business/wider world. This is the seventh year of the challenge and this year it has been organised by the Worshipful Company of Educators, which continues with great success. La Retraite students had the support of Ms Gray from the Worshipful Company of Insurers and had the opportunity to visit Lloyds of London to witness first hand the impact of the pandemic upon the workforce in the City. They also interviewed Ms Flynn, a former student, now working at Gallagher in their financial and professional risks department as an Assistant account holder and Ms Robinson, Group Chief Underwriting Officer, Zurich Insu
Wednesday 1 February 2023 Duke of Edinburgh Award Programme We have been awarded funding by the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and currently have over 70 students from Year 9 and Year 10 signed up. With the increasing number of students expected to sign up we expect to have hundreds of our students engaged in volunteering, taking part in physical and sporting activites, taking up new skills,and joining extracurricular as they complete for their Bronze award. We see this as an opportunity to continue our work with the local community further developing links. For further information about The Duke of Edinburgh Awards, please visit their website HERE
Friday 27 January 2023 Debate Mate Success On Tuesday 24th January KS3 and KS4 students from our Debate Mate club took part in the first round of the Urban Debate League competition, held at Notre Dame RC School in Southwark. The teams took part in two rounds of debate. These were unprepared debates, meaning that the teams had only 15 minutes to prepare once the motions had been given. The debate titles were 'This House would make Maths compulsory until the age of 18', and 'This House believes the royal family do more harm than good.' All four teams did exceptionally well in their debates and were commended on their excellent rhetorical style and use of powerful language. La Retraite won a total of 6 out of the 8 debates. Well done to all the students and teachers' involved
Monday 9 January 2023 Epiphany Service Students put on a great performance for parents with an Epiphany Service. The quality of the performance left both Parents, Staff and members of the local cmmunity amazed. A lot of effort went into their performance. The Epiphany service was a way for students to recognise the day and why it is celebrated in the Catholic Church
Wednesday 16 November 2022 Climate Kick-Start Prize Giving 2022 As a prize-winning school, Our Students were invited by The Mayor of London, Bloomberg and Let’s Go Zero to join them at the Prizegiving event of the 2022 London Schools’ Climate Kick-Start. The event took place on Monday 14 November, at the Bloomberg Building in central London. The Prizegiving event featured a number of high-profile environmental ambassadors including TV presenter,Paralympianand climate activist, AdeAdepitanMBE; BBC Radio 1’s Vick Hope; and CBBC presenter and Strictly Come Dancing star, Rhys Stephenson. It concluded a week of green careers events across London involving thousands of secondary students; helping to fill a vital skills gap and improving diversity and representation within the sector. Our award was given for inititives introduced to save water, such as the introduction of Water butts, changing the taps to produce less water and monitoring water usage.
Monday 24 October 2022 Hayward Gallery Visit Year 12 Art and Textiles were able to see the amazing exhibition ‘In The Black Fantastic’ at the Hayward Gallery before it closed.
Wednesday 19 October 2022 Design Engineer and Construct Approximately 50 Year 8 students got to meet TfL Architect, Ray Mwanahiba, when he visited school on Tuesday 11th October.
Monday 17 October 2022 Fenwick Estate Site Visit On Wednesday 5th October, T-Level Construction Students visited the Fenwick Estate Development in North Clapham. TfL are building 55 new affordable homes and a community centre on the Fenwick Estate near Clapham North Tube station. The Fenwick development is part of the wider Northern Line Extension project and provides an opportunity to accelerate the delivery of affordable homes in the borough.
Friday 14 October 2022 Minister for Skills Visits La Retraite 6 to Mark National T Levels Week Week commencing 10th October marked the beginning of national T Levels week, a movement to celebrate the successes and promote T Levels.
Monday 10 October 2022 Exploring the Past Our GCSE History cohort have recently completed two workshops with Front Line Living History, an organisation dedicated to communicating the past in a way which is engaging, interactive, immersive and fun, helping students to live and understand their history.
Wednesday 28 September 2022 Catching Up with the Girls Network Over the last few months, a group of students have been engaging in the Girls Network. The Girls Network’s mission is to inspire and empower girls from the least advantaged communities, by connecting them with a mentor and a network of professional role models who are women.
Monday 26 September 2022 Jack Petchey The Jack Petchey Environmental Award is awarded to a student who has worked hard to protect and promote the environment, and to build a greener future for their local community.

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