Character, Clubs and Cultural Capital

If you have the stamina to reach the bottom of this journal entry, you will see the long list of key dates for the Summer term.

But before you get your diaries out and start writing those emails to line managers requesting time off, please do take a moment to acknowledge the efforts made to hold so many events for the benefit of families and children.

I make no apology for the profuse thanks to those in the School community who volunteer so readily.

Enrichment clubs

My colleagues work extremely hard to provide enrichment clubs and events across the school and you can see the huge range of events and fixtures taking place - from athletics, tennis, golf, motorsport and rounders to instrumental music events, horse-riding, performing arts, LAMDA, with so much more taking place at lunchtimes, after school and on Fridays.

Junior Speedworks

Junior Speedworks

Junior Speedworks

Junior Speedworks

Junior Speedworks

Junior Speedworks

(and I haven’t even mentioned the Farm. If you have a moment, please take a look at the incredible agricultural feats of our young people. If you have more than a moment, grab a tool (no, not him) and get weeding!)

I am very proud of the dedication of staff, driven by a vocational commitment to go beyond the classroom and our day-to-day roles.  We are doing as much as we possibly can, as often as we can.

Twelfth Night - Year 9, April 2026

Twelfth Night - Year 9, April 2026

Twelfth Night - Year 9, April 2026

Twelfth Night - Year 9, April 2026

Twelfth Night - Year 9, April 2026

Twelfth Night - Year 9, April 2026

Twelfth Night - Year 9, April 2026

Twelfth Night - Year 9, April 2026

Trips and excursions

Such trips and excursions enrich the character education of our pupils - your children - and the risk assessments, travel arrangements, supervision protocols, liaison with venues and pre-trip visits take place out of school hours in colleagues’ spare time.  To have such a breadth of cultural capital for a small school is truly exceptional.

Bormio Ski Trip - December 2025

Allow me please to highlight events such as Alton Towers, managing 160 pupils at a theme park, or the Junior School trip for 95 pupils heading to Formby beach; trips to Chester Zoo, Daresbury Park, Jodrell Bank, a residential in Anglesey, theatre and museum trips to London.  This is truly exceptional provision.  

And then we have our foreign trips, and I must pay overdue credit to Mrs Storey for a fabulous ski trip to Bormio in Italy over New Year and to Ms Wilde for the recent trip to Paris.  Both are utterly meticulous in their organisation, with the children’s safety, wellbeing and experience foremost in their minds.

Risk assessments are finely detailed, often reaching 20 or so pages.  Itineraries are planned to the minute and always cramming the best of activities to make the very most of the opportunities.

I also thank colleagues who give up their own holidays and time with their families - beyond their contractual obligations - to support fabulous foreign excursions for the families of others. 

Paris Cultural Trip - March 2026

Paris Cultural Trip - March 2026

I thank them all as a father and a headteacher for the sparkling opportunities for lifelong memories, and of course to you as parents for your financial commitment to your children.

Sometimes we bite off a little more than we can chew and I have to be pragmatic.  A planned return trip to Iceland in October is perhaps too soon, and I want pupils and parents to have as much time to save for such events.  2027 will see a ski trip to Austria, a cultural trip (maybe to Rome?) and the opportunity for Iceland in the Autumn of that year.

The Cransley Foundation

Once again, I must celebrate the volunteers of The Cransley Foundation for their efforts throughout the year to provide unique social opportunities for families, all whilst maintaining full time professional roles.  It will not be long before the huge Marquee is erected on the Back lawn in readiness for the Afternoon tea (24th June) and Cransley Foundation Summer Ball (27th June) - two major events in the School calendar, preparation for which began months ago, and at which all parents and friends of families are welcome.

I highly encourage both attendance at these events and your understanding of how vital the money raised is for the development of resources and first class facilities at Cransley.  Your generosity, solely in participation, means so much to us.

Therefore, gather friends, use WhatsApp groups to amplify the positive and encourage participation, and take time to enjoy yourselves whilst providing vital funds for new developments. I will see you at every event, and take the opportunity to thank each and every one of you.

Tickets for all Foundation events are available on ParentPay, and I will soon be launching Cransleyfest 2026 on the 5th September.  I aim to have over 500 in attendance.  More to follow.

Dates fOR the Diary

28 Apr 26 Y10 Assessments begin (see timetable)

29 Apr 26 Y6 & Y11 Formal and Informal Photographs

04 May 26 BANK HOLIDAY

05 May 26 Years 7-10 ISA Athletics at Sport City

06 May 26 Y10 Speedworks Greenpower Race Meeting Mallory Park

06 May 26 Year 8-10 athletics @ Victoria Park Warrington

07 May 26 Y11 Leavers' Assembly

07 May 26 Y11 Study leave commences 4pm

08 May 26 AJIS Tennis Tournament (U11) @Kings Chester

08 May 26 GCSE Examinations start

11 May 26 Y9 Assessments: Core subjects

12 May 26 Year 3-6 ISA Athletics at Sports City

14 May 26 LAMDA Exams - Year 6

18 May 26 Y9 Assessments: Option subjects

19 May 26 Year 6 ISA Rounders Tournament @ Alderley Edge

21 May 26 Speedworks Team Greenpower Event - Croft Circuit, Darlington

02 Jun 26 Year 5+6 AJIS Athletics @ Longford Park, Trafford

02 Jun 26 Music for Life Workshop with Y7

03 Jun 06 Junior School Trip to Formby Beach

04 Jun 26 Year 5+6 AJIS Girls Cricket @ AKS

05 Jun 26 The Trials' Immersive Performance

06 Jun 26 Speedworks Junior Team Greenpower Goblins Event - Litchfield, Staffs

09 Jun 26 Junior to Senior Transition Days

10 Jun 26 Year 8+9+10 ISA Rounders Tournament at Alderley Edge

10 Jun 26 Spanish Food Tasting - Whole School

11 Jun 26 Year 10 Parents' Evening (selected pupils)

15 Jun 26 ISA National Athletics Finals @ Alexander Stadium Birmingham

16 Jun 26 Year 6 AJIS Rounders @ Scarisbrick

16 Jun 26 Final GCSE Examination (am)

17 Jun 26 Sports Day Juniors AM and Seniors PM

18 Jun 26 Reserve Sports Day Juniors AM Seniors PM

22 Jun 26 Cransley Talent Show

22 Jun 26 Whole School Staff Meeting - NO CSE CLUBS 

23 Jun 26 Violin/Ukulele Performance for Y4-6 - Afternoon

23 Jun 26 Acting Bug Performance - Wizard of Oz

24 Jun 26 Cransley Foundation Afternoon Tea

24 Jun 26 GCSE Contingency day

24 Jun 26 Yr 3&4 Visit Daresbury Labs TBC

25 Jun 26 Tri-School Golf Competition @ High Legh Park Golf Club

27 Jun 26 Cransley Foundation Summer Ball

29 Jun 26 Year 10 Biology/Geography Trip to Anglesey

30 Jun 26 Y7-9 Reward Trip to Chester Zoo

01 Jul 26 Prize Giving (Junior School, 2pm; Senior 6.30pm)

02 Jul 26 Summer Holidays Start 12pm

01-04 Jul 26 Stockton Heath Festival

01 Sep 26 Staff INSET 1

02 Sep 26 Staff INSET 2

03 Sep 26 Autumn term begins

05 Sep 26 Cransleyfest 26

A Spring Update

Dear Families

Thank you for taking the time to read this message before the start of the summer term, after what I hope would have been a useful and restful Spring break for you all.

There is a particular energy that defines the Spring Term at Cransley; it is a season of quiet growth and sudden blossoms, much like the development of the pupils themselves.

As a school, we often speak about 'nurturing relationships,' but in today’s world, that must mean more than just a supportive environment. It means providing a sophisticated pedagogical framework that teaches our children how to think, not just what to learn. This term, we have focused heavily on bridging the gap between classroom theory and real-world application, ensuring that the warmth of our community is matched by the rigour of our academic ambition.

Our long-term goal is simple yet profound: to remain a school where every child is known and valued, while simultaneously ensuring they are equipped with the intellectual stamina required for the 2030s. We are not just looking at the next grade, but at the next decade.

I am immensely proud of the professional dedication of my colleagues and the spirited curiosity of our pupils. Thank you for your continued partnership in this journey; it is the strength of our home-school connection that remains Cransley’s greatest competitive advantage.

Cransley continues to develop.

Welcoming Our New Families

A warm welcome to the families of pupils from Alderley Edge School for Girls who are joining us over the coming weeks.  We hope to make you quickly settled and part of our School, and I encourage all parents and pupils to reach out to our new families, many of whom have been through a difficult time over recent weeks.  

This modest growth in numbers strengthens the school’s long-term financial stability and vibrancy without compromising our ethos, especially as we reach a capacity in many year groups.

I took the chance to comment on this situation and our principles of admission in my latest Head’s Journal entry: ‘Small Schools are utterly vital to the independent educational sector; we have the capacity to care.’

Welcoming Our New Senior Leaders

While a school is defined by its values, it is propelled by its leadership. This term, we are delighted to welcome Mrs Katie Collins as Head of Pupil Wellbeing and Mr Michael Oakes as our new Head of Senior Academic Development to our Senior Management Team.

In the educational sector, 'senior management' is often synonymous with administration; at Cransley, however, we view these roles as stewards of our educational vision. Both Mrs Collins and Mr Oakes were appointed not just for their strong track records, but for their alignment with our ethos of high-performance heart.

• Katie Collins, Head of Pupil Wellbeing (starting 1st May): Bringing a wealth of experience from the business and educational sector, Mrs Collins will be instrumental in evolving our pastoral care into a forward-thinking system, proactive rather than reactive, promoting the highest standards of conduct as well as learning in future digital and financial wellbeing, not just emotional. 

Kaie’s expertise ensures that Cransley remains at the forefront of the evolving concept of wellbeing being much more than safeguarding and mental health awareness, providing our pupils with a truly modern level of care and support.  Katie’s classroom expertise lies in Drama and Performing Arts, enhancing our already thriving department.

• Mr Michael Oakes, Head of Senior Academic Development (starting 1st September): With a background in strategic pedagogical projects, Mr Oakes joins us to deepen our commitment to future academic enrichment and relevance.  He has an extensive track record in strategic decision-making, team management, and driving whole-school quality assurance, whilst promoting pupil wellbeing, safeguarding best practice, and ensuring regulatory compliance with external standards.  

Michael will be given the duties in developing our assessment and reporting system, in conducting a curriculum review, and developing performance evaluation, through careful coaching through the design and delivery of engaging training programmes.  He understands the vital innovative opportunities small schools can bring to the independent sector: where academic rigour must always coexist with the individual care that allows a child to thrive.

Beyond their professional credentials, both have already begun to weave themselves into the fabric of our community—with several visits to the school, observations from the sidelines of the sports pitches to the quiet conversations in the corridor, each carrying out early training to ready themselves for their new roles. Their arrival marks an exciting new chapter in our journey toward the school's strategic development over the coming years.

I am also delighted to welcome Miss Ashley Remsik to the Science department, replacing Mr Wilson as our Physics teacher.  Miss Remsik is a very impressive and brilliant young teacher of Science with a particular interest in astrophysics and rugby.  I hope she will enjoy a long and successful career at Cransley.

Welcoming New Members of our extended Cransley Family

Benjamin Orren Pauline was born on the 10th April at 10am.  Mum is healthy and well and we send our love, congratulations and best wishes to Liz, Mick and their son, now already known, fondly, as ‘Benny Ren’.  

The Heart of Cransley: Our Wellbeing Team

At the very core of Cransley life is a simple, unchanging truth: a child can only truly flourish when they feel safe, seen, and deeply valued. While our academic ambitions for our pupils are high, we know that the soil must be right for the seed to grow. This is why we don’t view pastoral care as a department, but as the pulse of everything we do.

To ensure your children have the very best wrap-around care, I have a dedicated team who work alongside me to look after the emotional and social ‘weather’ of the school. We are here to catch the small worries before they grow and to celebrate the quiet triumphs that often happen outside the classroom.

• As Headteacher, I will personally act as the Designated Safeguarding Lead for the coming months.  This is more than just a formal title; it means that the safety and happiness of every child is my first priority every single day, whilst maintaining high levels of administrative compliance. It allows me to ensure that our school remains a sanctuary where children can simply be themselves.

• Mrs Collins will then take over as Head of Pupil Wellbeing and become the familiar face and steady hand who manages the day-to-day wellbeing of our community. 

• It is the form tutors who do so much to ensure the care and support of pupils, and they will always be a parent’s first port of call.

• We are so fortunate to have Mr Morris, Mrs Hutchinson, Miss Totterdell and Mrs David as experienced and trained Deputy DSLs and part of our pastoral team. They provide that extra layer of specialist kindness, offering a quiet space for pupils to navigate the ups and downs of growing up with professional, gentle guidance.

We often say that Cransley is a family, and like any family, we look out for one another. This team is here to ensure that the warmth you feel when you walk through our front gates is backed up by the very best professional care, ensuring our pupils leave us not just with great results, but with a happy heart and a resilient spirit.

Estate development

The Spring break has seen some essential renovation and maintenance take place across a Grade 1 listed Estate which is an utter privilege, but which can prove - at times - to be rather problematic. 

Our major project has been the replacement of some of the bespoke curved, sash, octagonal framed windows of the front of Belmont Hall.  A key characteristic of this Georgian Mansion, the frames, panes and sills have been painstakingly recreated by local NW specialists and are being fitted by the brilliant Mark Walsh and his team, whose work has been of the highest quality over many projects at Cransley.

This second phase follows the replacement of the rear ground floor windows with new frames and safety glass, and should last a further couple of months.  Please be aware of the work whenever you need to park at the front of the Hall.  You won’t fail to miss the scaffolding.

With the previous car park renovations surviving hard frosts, heavy rains and the fleet of SUVs, we have extended the work further.  We have also spread our CCTV coverage further across the roads of the Estate, and will soon be installing new robust gates, to assist with security, safety and grounds management.

Our continued investment in the estate ensures that Cransley’s physical environment is as robust and well-cared for as our pupils.

year 11

Our Year 11s are now entering the culmination of their GCSE journey, and I hope they have balanced revision and opportunity for rest and restoration themselves over the recent break. Their recent mock results are a testament to their resilience, ability and the sophisticated academic framework they have been a part of for the last decade.

If you haven't already, please take a moment to read Mrs Lancaster’s Head’s Journal entry ‘Navigating the GCSE Journey: A Partnership for Success and Wellbeing’.

More to follow:

• Forthcoming events and dates for the diary

• Pupils standards: Uniform and Attendance

• Year 11 GCSE preparation

• Trips, Excursions and Enrichment activities

• The Cransley Afternoon Tea and Summer Ball

• Cransleyfest 2026

Yours

Richard Pollock

Headteacher

Small Schools are utterly vital to the independent educational sector; we have the capacity to care.

The Spring is a period where we are all hard at work at Cransley - pupils, colleagues and no doubt for you as well.  Congratulations on making it through a long dark winter!

This month, in particular, has been a curious one, with the announcement that Alderley Edge School for Girls will close this summer.

As an educationalist, it is difficult when colleagues in independent schools who, for whichever reasons (and there will be many), have little option but to desperately look for work, whilst giving their every effort to a school they love.

As a busy headteacher, it has been a happy challenge to have an already-full diary pushed aside (or, if I’m honest, moved to the evening) to make way for individual tours of the school, giving me the chance to warmly welcome new families keen to visit our setting.

As a School leader, it is difficult to observe and hear about how other schools lean on traditional, high-pressure selection panels, whilst we believe that true potential is discovered through dialogue and taster experiences.

As a parent, it is heartbreaking to meet so many families, tired and affected by the questionable treatment of already vulnerable and emotionally exhausted girls, who, it appears, have simply been paraded in front of selection panels and selected by examination and presentation with only a handful of days’ notice. 

It is a deeply emotional, and almost traumatic time for many - and kindness, not critique, must be in ample supply. We must be sympathetic, not selective.

We have and will continue to attract pupils to our School: Parents of daughters who intently want a small setting, where their child is noticed and known.  Settings where the girls will not be put on display, but encouraged, nurtured and carefully integrated.  

This is what we have done, to best support the families from AESG who have enquired: Listen; get to know the child in person; offer a bespoke individual tour; have supportive taster days, not mass examinations; initiate early friendships and support networks; aid a smooth and sympathetic transition; invite old Alderley Edge pupils to venture beyond as new Cransley pupils - or even better, to be both.  

This way, the academic growth of the child is not just sustained, but boosted and enhanced.

We will reach our capacity in most year groups, as a result, and we will protect the service to existing families - those recently joining us and those with whom we have had a relationship over many years.

Small schools have the time, the motivation and the capacity to care.

Indeed, as we hosted the North West regional meeting of ISBA (Independent Schools’ Bursars Association) at Cransley, I welcomed the opportunity to remind the sector that the most innovative schools in the UK right now are those that remain agile, positive and pupil-centred. 

Do not be under any illusion: small Independent Schools are utterly vital to the educational sector.

We make decisions quickly and effectively;

We innovate and are quick and flexible in bringing about change, leading the way in academic and pastoral service.

We maintain fiscal and operational agility, adapting to opportunities and challenges.

We can be intentionally the ‘right size’ for our School - not too big, not too small.

We are invariably more inclusive, meeting the needs of more;

We are rarely arrogant, elitist and selective, but rather humble, gentle and modest;

We reduce middle management, putting front-line teaching excellence first, not last, and inverting the management structure so that experienced multi-skilled leaders serve and facilitate those providing the pupils’ education; 

We support each other - sharing ideas, without unnecessary and counterproductive notions of competition and rivalry;

And - most importantly - we nurture relationships.  We listen and we care.

I wish the families and employees of Alderley Edge School for Girls well.  I hope they are able to celebrate the rich history of the school which had (and has) so much importance in the lives of girls and women across the country.

Richard Pollock

Headteacher