Month: March 2022

We were thrilled to learn that current CTK St Mary’s learner, Tony, has just accepted his offer to study Engineering at Oxford University. Tony is an upper sixth learner who is currently studying A Level Maths, Further Maths, Art and Physics. We organised a talk with Tony to see how he’s been enjoying CTK St Mary’s and what his future plans are. 

How are you enjoying your current subjects? 

“Overall, it is challenging but the content of these subjects is very interesting, which makes the subjects themselves enjoyable!” 

What has been the most challenging thing about your studies? 

“The most challenging thing has been finding a strong work-life balance.” 

In what ways have your teachers supported you at CTK? 

“My teachers at CTK are amazing! They are always willing to talk me through difficult concepts by simplifying them and ensuring that I develop my understanding of them.” 

What are you looking forward to most at Oxford University? 

“At Oxford I hope to network with new people and also acquire more specialist skills, such as programming.” 

What are your plans after you finish further education? 

“I really aspire to be an engineer at Telsa, that would be amazing!” 

What would you say to students who wish to study at CTK in the future? 

“Always try to learn ahead of the class and make full use of the fantastic resources given to you by the great teachers.” 

Well done Tony; we hope you enjoy your course at Oxford University and have a great time. 

CTK St Mary’s was visited recently by Bradley March, a senior football and sports development officer, from the Charlton Athletic Community Trust. CACT (Charlton Athletic Community Trust) is a great organisation that works within local communities that uses football as a means to improve health, education and employment, whilst also reducing crime. Bradley spoke meaningfully about the skills, knowledge and qualities that are required to become an effective sports coach as well as his career in the industry and the work that CACT do for the local community. 

Ms Shooman-Taylor, organiser of the presentation, emphasised its importance for the learners. “This was a fantastic talk and exceedingly useful for both our lower and upper sixth BTEC Sport learners.” She states, “for the upper sixth it is helpful because the extra knowledge this will provide towards their Sports Coaching unit is invaluable, and for the lower sixth it will give them a great idea on the types of progression they can expect after studying with us here at CTK St Mary’s.” 

The talk was part of CTK’s external speaker programme, where we invite interesting and educated people to share their stories and teach our learners. We have many more speakers lined up for the future and we will keep you informed of them as they occur on our social media pages. 

We welcomed the celebration of LGBT+ History Month here at Christ the King this February with a variety of activities and displays which sought to illuminate some of the amazing actions members of the LGBT+ community have performed throughout history. 

In the LRC (Learning Resource Centre) we have had wonderful displays installed detailing both prominent historical figures from the LGBT+ community as well as more recent individuals who have achieved something remarkable. Many people have found these displays incredibly interesting and thought provoking. An example of someone on the board was Nicola Adams, who was the first openly LGBT+ woman ever to win an Olympic gold medal in the boxing competition. 

The LGBT+ Society, a student-led group acting as a safe and secure environment to talk about issues relating to the LGBT+ community, has also been discussing LGBT+ history, as well as the positive changes to civil rights in recent history and the landmark events that led to where we are now, including the 1969 ‘Stonewall Riots’ and origins of the Pride in England to name a few. 

Our 10:10 reflection at the start of the month was also dedicated to LGBT+ history month, which emphasised the importance of respecting human identity, dignity and worth, and that whoever we are, our self-understanding can be affected by our past, present and future. 

CTK is an establishment that reveres acceptance and respect, and we are delighted to be able to be able to shine a light on the importance of the LGBT+ community and the positive impact they have made in making our world a better place. 

At Christ the King we are big proponents of social action in our communities and are regularly running events and activities for the benefit of charities in and around our local communities. Below are a few of the recent social action events that have been taking place across the CTK (Christ the King) sites. 

Recently learners and staff were encouraged to wear expressive clothing in aid of “Dress to Express Day”, a day that aims to raise both money and awareness for the charity Young Minds, a charity that seeks to ensure all young people and their families receive mental health support, if they need it. This day raised over £350 for the charity and cannot wait to see this money put to good use. 

In a similar vein, students also took part in “Onesie Day”, which saw learners attend their sixth form in all manner of humorous onesies. This event was run by the learners themselves and was in aid of Mindout, a charity focusing on improving the mental health of people in the LGBT+ community. 

Learners also ran a heart-shaped lollypop stand in the canteen, with the profits going towards the charity Tender, a charity whose mission is to help young people who are the victims of domestic abuse. This was another charity selected by the learners. The total sales managed to raise a fantastic amount of £70 for the charity. 

The grand total from these events was over £400, and we are so immensely proud of our learners for running events like these, whilst simultaneously committing to their studies. It demonstrates how deeply they care about social action and how much making a difference means to them. 

We eagerly await the opportunity to inform you of more acts of charity and social action occurring around the sixth forms in the future. 

Christ the King is proud to announce the launch of our Easter Appeal, a fundraiser seeking to raise both gifts and money towards two amazing charities, CAFOD and Demelza.  

CAFOD (Catholic Aid for Overseas Development) is a Catholic organisation that aims to assist anyone in the world who requires aid. Demelza is a charity that assists families with young members suffering from terminal and very serious illnesses. 

The appeal is set to run throughout lent and encompasses a variety of social action initiated by our learners, including a chocolate Easter egg appeal, a GoFundMe donation page and a milkshake stand amongst many more. We are honoured to be organising such an event and are excited to be able to update you once we have news on the status of the appeal. 

If you would like to donate items or funds to the appeal, you can do so in a variety of ways: 

• If you would like to donate monetary funds, please follow the link which will take you to our GoFundMe page, where we are raising money for the two charities. 
• If you would like to donate chocolate eggs to the appeal, please bring them to either the chaplaincy, or the reception where they will be collected by the team. 

We would like to take this moment to thank our fantastic chaplaincy team for organising the appeal and continuing to facilitate and run events throughout its course.