Community, connection and Crosfields

New year – new focus

September was an exceptionally busy month for the Crosfields community. We welcomed back over 700 pupils, launched a new website and hosted a series of events for all areas of our community, including the inaugural event of the Crosfields Oaks alumni programme on the 29th September.

We had some excellent feedback:
‘It was good to reconnect with the School and understand everybody’s roles, putting names and faces together.’
‘Learning how the house system works was really interesting’
‘Seeing the new buildings was very good.’

Part of our history and our future

Crosfields School has an extensive history but officially became an independent school in 1957. We recognise the value of our alumni community and the opportunities our alumni provide to current pupils. At the event, we had pupils who had left from 1949 through to 2017, demonstrating the longevity of our school and the powerful impact it still has on past pupils.

For the relaunch event, we delved into our archives to find photos of Crosfields through the years to show our Crosfields Oaks how much the school has transformed during its history. These photos sparked conversations and allowed people to share their memories. A prominent conversation was when a few members shared their experience of where they were in school when they had been informed of the King’s death in 1952; a moment in history that has been witnessed again when we all received the announcement of the Queen’s passing. Despite the separation of time, this is one example of collective experience when our current pupils will remember their time at Crosfields and the shared Collects to remember Her Majesty.

A co-educational and diverse community

Another significant moment was welcoming back one of the first girls to join our community in 2007. Crosfields School now has a pupil body that is nearly 50% girls across all years. This demonstrates that our vision of a co-educational school has evolved past aspirations and our reality is an embedded culture that runs throughout the school; we even have co-educational teams for cricket. What links these memories and stories is the Crosfields experience. We provide the chance for pupils to remain connected, share their stories and offer support and encouragement to future pupils.

Looking ahead, we are excited to collaborate more with our alumni community through careers events to share real-life experiences with our current pupils. Currently, Crosfields School educates pupils from Nursery to GCSE, with the aim of empowering pupils to make choices that are best for them and prepare them for life beyond our 45 acres. There are many doors that can open after students complete their GCSEs here, for example, they may decide the breadth of the IB curriculum is their preferred route or the expanding apprenticeship programme, allowing them to jump into work. We hope that by hearing stories from past pupils they will have a stronger understanding of what is best for them. What will remain consistent is we will always have a community here for them, in which they can connect, share and give back to future pupils.

Share your experiences

If you’re a former pupil and would like to support our career initiatives, work in an industry that would be of interest to our pupils, and would like to extend your professional network, get in touch alumni@crosfieldsschool.com