As we approach the end of what is always an incredibly busy half- term, the newsletter always gives me time to reflect on all that has taken place over the course of the last month.

Having maintained a relentless focus on promoting excellent attendance and punctuality this academic year, an area of focus for our new Assistant Head Teacher, Mr Wills, it is pleasing to see that the first few articles are devoted to celebrating our pupils successes in this regard.

We continue to reinforce the link between excellent attendance and punctuality, and excellent outcomes and the prominence of these articles is testament to that. You will shortly be receiving a letter from Mr Wills that focuses on how you can continue to support your child so do take the time to read through it.

In the meantime enjoy our January Newsletter.

Anthony Ellul

Headteacher

Congratulations to all students who won an Attendance or Punctuality Award—your dedication is inspiring! Keep aiming for 100% attendance and punctuality for a chance to win an Amazon voucher.

A huge well done to Serena on receiving the Jack Petchey Award! The Hollywood Bowl trip was a fantastic way to celebrate her achievement. We’re also proud of Rio Kyerematen, a former student, who was recently called up to Tottenham Hotspur’s senior squad—an incredible milestone!

In light of Chinese New Year, our Citizens of the World club organised a vibrant celebration, with beautifully crafted decorations that took weeks to prepare. A huge thank you to Ms Silva for coordinating this wonderful event.

Lastly, thank you to Generation2Generation for their moving Holocaust survivor testimonies. Their stories of resilience and courage were truly inspiring.

Deborah Oyakunle

Head Girl

Well done to students who won an Attendance or Punctuality Award last week.

Each term, if a student is on time all week, they receive entry into the termly prize draw to win an Amazon Voucher. Students who have 100% attendance each week are entered into a draw as well.

Each House has two winners and these students were celebrated in assemblies last week!

We had a fantastic trip to Hollywood Bowl to celebrate Serena’s amazing achievement of receiving the Jack Petchey Award. It was a well-deserved recognition of her hard work and dedication! The outing was packed with fun, laughter, and, of course, some friendly bowling competition. Students thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and it was wonderful to see everyone coming together to celebrate Serena’s success.

A huge well done to Serena for this incredible accomplishment, and thank you for giving us a reason to celebrate in such style! Stay tuned for more updates and events like this—our students are always reaching for the stars!

Mr Knibb

Head of Year 8

Rio Kyerematen, a former pupil of St James', has continued to build his promising career as a talented young player, now playing for the Tottenham Hotspur U21 squad. Recently, he was called up to be part of the senior squad for a Europa League match, where Tottenham faced IF Elfsborg.

This opportunity marked a significant milestone in his career, as it gave him the chance to compete on the international stage. We are eager to see more of his achievements!

Burnt Oak was the location, backdrop and catchment area for the Catholic Schools founded by the Dominican Sisters.

Whence comes the name of Burnt Oak? Burnt Oak Field was a field of farmland on the east side of the Edgware Road (Watling Street ) close to where the Edgware Community Hospital now stands which was developed for residential housing in 1853 and this housing, consisting of North , South and East Streets, was named after the field on which they were built. However, this development was but tiny compared to the Burnt Oak of today.

The development of greater Burnt Oak could be said to have been triggered by the extension of the Northern Line and the construction of the tube station known as Burnt Oak Station in 1924 providing a transport link into London. The LCC( London County Council )bought the surrounding farmland , mainly Goldbeaters Farm, one of twelve sites of land outside of London on which to build cottage housing for the many who lived in poor over-crowded accommodation in central London.

View from Orange Hill Footpath 1925, looking ENE

Orange Hill Footpath 1927

The Housing fit for Heroes movement which campaigned for decent housing to be built for those who had fought in the First World War provided energy to the demand and the development of Burnt Oak. 487 acres (157 hectares ) of land were bought . The housing estate was named the Watling Estate after the old Saxon name for the Edgware Road. George Forest the LCC’s chief Architect planned the design of the Watling Estate, and his design was heavily influenced by The Garden City Movement espoused by Ebenezar Howard. 4012 homes in all were built. “Care was taken to exploit the undulating ground, offering vistas and long views. There are cul de sacs. The terraces are indeed short and stepped back at road corners to open up the space(see the photograph of Block 321 and the green sward which illustrates this point). Throughout the estate runs the Silk Stream, and the banks have been used to create parks and internal open space.” Most of the housing was made of brick but a small number were made of steel and timber by way of experimentation. A number of flats were also built examples of which can be seen in Gunter Grove and Orange Hill Road. The new inhabitants of the Watling Estate came mainly from the Islington and St Pancras areas of London. Compared to modern housing development, which is of a higher density than the Watling Estate , the Watling is a model of its kind. The Watling was declared a Conservation Area in 2007. Silk Stream and Montrose Parks have been tastefully beautified, recently, enhancing the areas in which they stand.

To use a modern acronym NIMBY(not in my backyard) the new residents of the Watling Development were not welcomed by the folk of neighbouring areas such as Mill Hill. The new residents were labelled and smeared as “revolutionaries” and the children to use cockney slang” tea leaves, thieves”. Change and new developments are not easy to accept.

To be found in St James’ Colindale are slate plaques engraved with the names Orange Hill and Burnt Oak reminding the School Community of its roots and origins and that Burnt Oak was the home of St James’ for nearly seventy years.

I have great affection for Burnt Oak and the people of Burnt Oak having studied and worked there for over thirty years.

In this short write-up it is only possible to give a much-simplified account of the development of Burnt Oak and the Watling Estate and thus a full, detailed, and accurate picture is sacrificed to brevity. For this I apologise as I do for any bowdlerization of the truth .

There is still much to be researched on the history of St James’, on Burnt Oak, on Colindale and the immense contribution that the Dominican Sisters have made to the School . Are there any current St James’ students who would care to don the mantle of researcher/geographer/historian and help with this pioneering task?

I wish to thank and acknowledge “The London Archives and City of London Corporation” for permission to use the photographs illustrating part 3 of the History of St James’.

To be continued….

Kevin McSharry

Headteacher Emeritus of St James’

Watling Estate under construction 1928. Notice the rail track in the foreground

Block 321 ,Orange Hill Rd/Boston Rd 1929. To the right of the photograph St. Rose’s Convent is visible through the trees.

Generation2Generation joined us in January to speak with students across all year groups.

(G2G) is a Holocaust Education Charity established to empower second and third-generation Holocaust survivor descendants to present their family histories to a wide variety of audiences. Through the use of survivor testimony, G2G aims to keep these Holocaust Stories alive and promote the importance of exclusivity and human rights.

All four stories are linked with the themes of courage, determination, resilience, love and triumph out of adversity. Our pupils were involved with the speakers whose sincerity, openness, pride and honesty made the testimony live. An inspirational morning very well spent.

Y9 heard from Noreen Plen who shared the story of her her parents, Lola Waksman and Jan Kurz- Bernstein.

Y10 heard from Avital Manahem who shared the story of her grandfather, Yisrael Abelesz.

Y11 heard from Jeanette Marx who shared the story of her her mother, Mascha Nachmannson.

Sixth form heard from Francis Morton who shared the story of his parents, George and Renee Morton.

We take away the resonance and the value of the personal story counterpointed with the figures and imagery associated with the horrors of the holocaust. There were powerful connections made with the society that we live in today where peace and understanding are so desired and sought for.

Generation to Generation gifted us with some lovely resources and links so that pupils can find out more about the Holocaust.

Mr Haffner

Assistant Headteacher

Citizen's of the World Club

In light of the Chinese New Year, our Citizens of the World club went above and beyond to organise a vibrant and festive Chinese New Year-themed party. The club members put in a lot of effort and time to bring the event to life, with a few weeks dedicated to crafting intricate decorations. Thank you to Ms Silva who coordinated this.

Chinese Themed Menu

To celebrate Chinese New Year, our amazing canteen staff went all out to prepare a truly delicious and festive Chinese-themed menu. The Sweet Chilli Noodles, Hoisin Chicken pizza, The Char Siu Chicken were all available for our pupils to enjoy. To top it all off fortune cookie cupcakes for dessert. A huge thank you to our incredible canteen staff whose hard work and creativity made this celebration so special.

"Year 7 are started Fractions unit this for this term. To kick off the lesson, pupils were given the task of writing down what they believe is the most interesting fraction. This activity encouraged them to think critically and creatively about what makes something a fraction, leading to a variety of ideas being shared. The students were asked to consider different types of fractions, from proper and improper fractions to mixed numbers."

Ms King

Head of Maths

"The Maths Colloquium welcomed Mr. Ellul as the keynote speaker today, and his presentation captured the full attention of the audience. With great enthusiasm, Mr. Ellul delivered a thought-provoking message titled, "What is meant by ‘Calculus’. Mr. Ellul linked the students' existing knowledge of Advanced Mathematics to real-world applications, specifically drawing connections to the COVID-19 pandemic. He explained how mathematical models and calculus played a crucial role in understanding the spread of the virus, predicting trends, and helping governments and health organizations respond effectively."

Ms King

Head of Maths

"Drama students have been working hard on the climatic final scene of Blood Brothers, where emotions reach their peak and the intense drama unfolds. In this pivotal moment, the students have been focusing on capturing the raw emotion, tension, and complexity of the characters as the plot reaches its heartbreaking conclusion."

Mr Edmondson

Head of Drama