18 year old Israel Owolabi from Custom House has today been named as our 6th Form September Jack Petchey award winner.

Israel is in Year 13 and is studying for his A Levels in Economics, Psychology and Computer Science.

He is a member of the Senior Student Leadership Team and is the Deputy Head Boy. He is an excellent role model for his fellow students and mentors Year 12s.

He is always polite and is an excellent student who has impressed staff since he joined St Bonaventure’s 6th Form from Kingsford Community School.

Mr Halliwell presented him with his certificate today and said: “I only wish Israel had been with us for his whole secondary school education as he is a gentleman and it’s an honour to know him.”

Israel plans to go paint-balling with his award money.

Last week, Ms Roddy, the Assistant Director of the 6th Form, was delighted to welcome Steve Oakes, the co-author of ‘The A Level Mindset’ and ‘The GCSE Mindset’ into school where he delivered VESPA training to the Year 12 Tutor Team.

With the increasing attention being paid to non-cognitive attributes in education, based on the accumulating evidence of their importance as predictors of educational achievement outcomes, St Bon’s 6th Form are excited to be partaking in this important research project which is being run in collaboration with the Psychology Department at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Ms Roddy commented: “Year 12 students will have weekly VESPA sessions as part of their tutorial programme and we look forward to the journey ahead.”

This fabulous group were presented with their Jack Petchey Foundation golden medallions  at the O2 last night, September 24.

Geo, Julius, Liam, Noah, Sean, Elizabeth, Mr Young, Franz, Simon, Daniel and Romeo collected their awards in front of family and friends.

Well done to the deserving winners.

Miss Massett’s Book Club went up West on September 20 to see the magical  production of Disney’s Aladdin at the Prince Edward Theatre in Old Compton St in Soho and fell in love with the show.

It was truly amazing Miss Massett reported with the  production team managing to keep to the traditional story that has been well-loved by generations of people. She added:  “Each scene was breath-takingly bright and colourful and the costumes and songs were stunning. Our students loved the special effects thought it was a magical and a wonderful experience.”

These happy looking chappies  should be very pleased with themselves after passing their anti bullying training that took place yesterday, September 19, at St Catherine’s School in Bexleyheath.

Mr Stanley took the boys and reports they were fantastic and were very mature.

They will now be able to help students in school deal with potential situations and put into action all they have learned.

A huge well done to Gabriel Bitonio who was awarded the certificate for being one of the best ambassadors of the day.

This group of studious, smart looking students is our new Senior Student Leadership Team or SSLT as they are known.

They all have their easily identifiable grey lanyards and are there to help with any issues.

Led by Headboy Jamie and Headgirl Ashanaye, the team all got together on Tuesday to pose for this photo.

Good luck in Year 13 and best wishes with their studies.

Prize night last night, September 13, was a lovely occasion that saw the Year 11  Class of 2018 gathering one last time for a night of celebration and certificates.

Old Bonaventurian and maths genius, ‘University Challenge’ contestant and celebrity, Bobby Seagull, came back as our Guest of Honour and to present prizes.

It was lovely to see them together again and many parents and siblings attended.

Here are some photos from the evening.

Parents and carers of Year 6 boys are invited to come along with their sons and take a closer look at our vibrant school and meet enthusiastic staff and students on our Open Evening on Thursday, October 11, from 6pm – 8pm.

They can see for themselves what has made St Bonaventure’s amongst the top performing schools in East London for 141 years.

Headteacher, Mr Halliwell, will address parents and student-led tours will take place throughout the evening.

His first address will take place at 6pm.

For parents who can’t make this date, a week of Open Mornings from October 15 to 19 have been arranged between 9am and 11am. 

On the night, advice and help will be given on how to apply to St Bonaventure’s as it can sometimes seem a daunting complicated task.

Parents and their sons will be able to sample lessons in action and chat to teachers.

We look forward to seeing everyone and welcoming them into our school.

WHAT a lovely start to the academic year welcoming over 200 smart Year 7 lads into school this morning, September 4.

They all seemed to enjoy their first day and received their planners and made new friends.

Tomorrow they start their full lessons and parents come in for a Curriculum Evening at 6pm on Thursday, September 6, to hear about how they can help their sons transition into secondary school.

These are exciting times.