Maths Student of the Week

Lily 9R - for the sustained effort in maths lessons and consistently being a fantastic student!

Well Done!

RITANGLE Competition 2024 

The CSG team, consisting of the Year 13 A2 Further Maths group, recently participated in this national competition.

Ably captained by Arthur, supported by archivist Joe with contributions from the whole class, they were successful in correctly solving every task.

Unfortunately, they were not quick enough in completion to win overall. However, they were listed in the commendable teams.

The Mathematics Department is very proud of their performance.

Sixth Form Production - Bakkhai

This week saw our Sixth Form production of Anne Carson’s adaptation of Euripides’ BAKKHAI.

Sixth Formers performed with aplomb, both as actors and as musicians in the many live bands, bringing this ancient text into blistering life

The cast were supported by an amazing and dedicated team of their peers stage managing, running the lighting and sound, and creating wonderful props and fantastic makeup and costume looks.

We are so proud of our students and have very much enjoyed creating this production with them.

Ms Cohen and Ms Earnshaw-Punnett

Assembly Speakers - 15 November
Akshay and Jenny from Google

In our assembly on Monday, 25 November, we were visited by two wonderful employees from Google. During this assembly, we learnt that Google was founded more than 25 years ago by a couple of university students and that as of today it has achieved over 1 billion monthly users across several products. Today, the company has over 70 offices worldwide, further elaborating its reach and presence. We were also introduced to Google’s mission: “To organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

We discovered that Google is considered a great place to work because it’s filled with bright and intelligent people from diverse backgrounds who collaborate and enjoy their work. In London, Google has three main sites. The largest office is located at King’s Cross, and the newest office next door, still under construction, is set to be completed in 2025. The other two offices are located in the West End and Belgravia.

We then learnt about the journeys of the two workers who spoke to us. The first speaker, Akshay, shared how a circuitous path brought him to Google, where he has now been for over 6 years. He was offered an internship after working as a business analyst for a while, during his MBA. He now works on the Google Play Store, responsible for managing how apps are downloaded onto the Android Play Store and keeping users safe. This platform is used by over 3 billion Android devices and offers more than 5 million apps to download.

The second speaker, Jenny, has been with Google for nearly four years and works as a software engineer. She pursued STEM subjects in high school, enjoyed them, and went on to earn a computer science degree. She later completed her master’s degree at Imperial College London. Jenny works on the Android Search app, which powers Google Search—the largest search engine on Android.

We also learnt that there are many roles and pathways to joining Google. Roles such as software engineers, people operations specialists, product managers, lawyers/counsellors, UX designers, content creators, partner managers, and many more exist within the company. One of the key skills required for these roles is the ability to apply transferable skills.

Some common myths about working in tech companies were debunked:

1. Everyone at tech companies has a computer science degree. 
This is not true, as many people in tech roles transitioned from different fields and do not necessarily hold computer science degrees. Doctors, lawyers, accountants, marketeers, architects, have all found a place in different roles at Google, for example.

2. Everyone at a tech company codes.
This is also false. There are numerous non-coding roles in tech, as highlighted by the diverse departments at Google that range from physical data centers to sales teams to human resources to consultants.

The speakers provided some tips for preparing for a career in tech. These include identifying your interests, seeking out relevant courses, attending networking sessions and interest groups, and exploring available roles within companies, as job requirements can vary.

To conclude, we were left with a quote from Albert Einstein: “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” The speakers outlined how, at Google, you work with some of the smartest people in the world, and their brilliance can inspire and influence you.

Gloria
Sixth Form Senior Prefect

Parent Governor Election Results

Thank you for participating in our recent parent governor election, either as a candidate or as a voter.

The following parents have been elected as parent governors with effect from 11 December 2024 for a four-year term of office.

• Brian Jarvis
• Kate Fox

Congratulations to Brian & Kate.
Thank you to you all for your interest in and commitment to our school and governing body, and I hope you consider involvement in any future parent governor elections.