News Stories

Our annual senior citizens Christmas lunch took place on Wednesday 14th December. It was attended by over 50 senior citizens from care homes in the community.
They enjoyed a fabulous Christmas meal and were entertained by our school choir as well as playing Bingo.
The event was hosted by our head students and the Year 9 council, all of whom did a fabulous job.
Such a lovely afternoon! 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Mr Finlayson, Leader of Enrichment

On his first Thanksgiving Day in the USA, former student Zak Adams interviewed a number of current President Kennedy School students for his initial research project as a Harvard University student. Although he is set to Major in Mathematics at Harvard, in his induction Zak has opted to research a topic close to his heart in the way that schools teach the Holocaust with greatest success.

In a two-hour Zoom call led by Zak, he listened carefully to the experiences and feelings of students in Years 8,9,10 and 12, prompting them with engaging questions about what they have learnt and the way they have learned it. 
There was, of course, an ice-breaker session to begin with as our students grilled Zak on what it is like to be a student in the USA. He opened a new set of possibilities for his younger audience, proving that there really is life, not only outside of Coventry, but beyond the ocean. He is simply loving life in Massachusetts, working with people from all around the globe and getting seriously hooked on American football. He also reported on the build- up to the England v USA World Cup fixture.
Our students spoke candidly about their experiences of learning about the Holocaust. For some of the members of the group, this included meeting Peter Lantos, survivor of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, who visited President Kennedy School last academic year. 

Although much of the interview centered around the value of films and drama on the subject, there was a real consensus that Holocaust education was essential and had to reflect what the victims went through. To Ella Adejinmi inYear 8, it was important that she had been able to see “beyond statistics” about this period of history adding that meeting a survivor was a “privilege” that helped her come to terms with what happened in the 1930s and 40s. Chelsea Omateyo in Year 9, expressed the view that some things in life can be “so large they are almost incomprehensible” and that it was important to be able to ask questions about emotionally difficult subjects. 

Our Post 16 representatives Erin Ford and Lily Marsden shared their views as older students, reflecting that film and drama could help us “see through the obvious and stereotyped” but commented on the need for “emotional maturity” before a young person can fully benefit. That we should continue to share the testimonies left behind by the millions of victims to give them individuality and personality beyond the names of the camps and the numbers of victims who perished there, remains an ongoing challenge for us as we continue to explore this vital educational theme.

In return for us providing this interview, Zak will be coming back to President Kennedy School during his winter break in January to talk to Post 16 students about wider options. He has also welcomed emails from the students he interviewed offering support and guidance.
We hope this connection with Zak and Harvard continues to provide inspirational opportunities for our students. Our thanks go out to Zak and the students who contributed so well- Laxshan Vasikumar, James Colledge, Ilan Thowfeek-Faris, Ella-Adora Adejinmi, Poppy Bailey, Ryker Hourihan, Shanice Taylor, Alicja Hemperek, Deborah Fofie, Chelsea Omoteyo, Hannah Richards, Aisha Malik, Inaya Rafiq, Erin Ford, Lily Marsden.

                     Mr Finney, Teacher of History

On Wednesday 23rd November 2022, President Kennedy School hosted its first ever Pan African Culture Festival.

The event was a showcase of the best of Black British, Caribbean and African culture with regards to fashion, music, dance, art and food.

The Festival was the brainchild of the Fabulous Club, a group dedicated to celebrating the school’s cultural diversity, when they were asked how they would most like to celebrate Black History Month.

After a warm welcome from our MCs Deja Bailey and Hannah Richards, the evening kicked off with a fashion show in which our models represented their nations of heritage with their traditional garments and flags.

Our models were: Cordelia Akata, Zuriel Assafuah, Cheryl Bortey, Jeremiah Cudjoe, Rosemary Cudjoe, Fadil Dabre, Vanessa Danso, Deborah Fofie, Gillian Forkuoh, Afia Frimpong, Michelle Kirk-Asante, Fares Mudhai, Arnold Ofori, Constance Nwokeocha, Anna-Rachel Quayson, Shanice Rogers and Shante Rogers.

At the interval, our guests, performers and volunteers had the opportunity to taste some divine West African food provided by the Nigerian restaurant AGG on Far Gosford Street. 
The array of dishes included: Jollof, Fried Rice, Egusi Soup, Pounded Yam, Chicken Drumsticks, Suya (Beef), Turkey wings, Samosas, Pies, Fried Prawns, Puff Puff balls.

The second act included beautiful solo singing performances by Amina Sharmarkey with 'I choose you' and Cordelia Akata with 'Scars to your beautiful'.

Dave’s iconic and symbolic masterpiece ‘Black’ was performed by the duo of Zuriel Assafuah on the drums and Fares Mudhai on the keyboard and vocals.

Stefania Adoma and Emmanuella Boadi did an Afrobeat dance routine as a duet to the infectious melody and beat of 'On the Low' by Burna Boy.

An Afrobeat dance troupe from year 8 raised the roof of the building with a scintillating dance routine to ‘Wololo’ by Babes Wodumo featuring Maphintsa.

Commendations go to: Rosemary Cudjoe, Chanelle Goremucheche, Deborah Fofie, Gillian Forkuoh, Michelle Kirk-Asante, Constance Nwokeocha, Daniella Mensah, Keneth Opoku, Anna-Lee Quayson, Shanice Rogers Shante Rogers and Hannah Wachira.

Shanice Rogers represented her southern African heritage with a performance of the Zulu song ‘Easy to Love’ by Bucie.

Arguably the stand out performer of the night was Fabulous Student Lead, David Samura, who sang four different pieces. His first was a solo rendition of ‘All to me’. He and his fellow Fabulous Student Lead Emanuela Brown sang a duet of the soulful ‘Best Part’ by Daniel Caesar featuring H.E.R.

David’s church choir graced us with their presence and angelic voices. The first of their performances was ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’.

The climax was 'Stand Up' from the film ‘Harriet’, a biopic about African American former slave and hero Harriet Tubman. 
This was performed by David and his choir, and their rousing performance received a rapturous standing ovation from the audience.

At the end, the performers, who had put in such hard work were able to celebrate by dancing to some contemporary rhythms.

This truly was a World Class event for students, parents and staff, to learn experientially about other cultures.

We are fortunate at President Kennedy School that we have such a diverse Black community with students hailing from countries including Jamaica, Barbados, Grenada, St Lucia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, South Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Congo, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

This might just be the start of a new tradition at our outstanding school.  
                                                                            Team Fabulous