We are delighted to announce the launch of our virtual event "Cheney 2050" on 24th March, 2021.
2020 brought two firsts for Cheney School. The pandemic forced schools across the country and world to close their doors to most students for the first time. In 2020, Cheney also received the news that it had become the first UK school to have an accredited museum spread throughout its site. More than ever, communities have been reflecting on where they are now, and what they want to see in the future. It is a challenging and exciting time for everyone. In this conference there are a range of organisations offering workshops, and two expert speakers, to inspire you to develop your own ideas about where Cheney should be in 2050. What should Cheney, and its Rumble Museum, do in the next thirty years to make the school and community a better place for everyone?
The website for the conference will contain a gallery of fascinating things to explore, both on the day of the conference and beyond. You will find five minute talks from a range of experts, including Pitt Rivers Museum, Friends of the Earth, Butterfly Conservation, silvologist Dr Gabriel Hemery, Tom Hayes, Oxford City Councillor, Tree Talk, and others. You can also explore some of the many artefacts in the Rumble Museum, which have been specially chosen to connect with the conference themes. From the mbira piano to the science fiction of C.S. Lewis, there is something to link with all the ideas of this event.
Local primary school children have also come up with their own ideas about their future schools, so you can explore their thoughts and plans as well!
Year Eight Museum Council students have been working hard to identify, map and photograph all of Cheney's beautiful trees. They have themed each section, and recruited a range of staff to be the voices of the trees. As well as many fascinating and informative staff tree voice-overs, there are some celebrity trees hidden in each section - visit the tree trail to see if you can recognise their voices as they tell you about their tree.
The live talks and workshops on the day itself will be booking only for Cheney sixth formers. However, the talks and some workshops will be made available for all to listen to after the day itself. There are talks by Lord Robert Winston and Kate Raworth. There are workshops by Earthwatch, Natural History Museum Oxford, Ashmolean, Empathy Museum, the City Council, Uncomfortable Oxford, Brookes University, Story Museum, Bill Finnegan, Oxfordshire Livable Streets, Project Cece and Pivot power, amongst others.
The conference will be hosted here. Visit on 24th March to explore!
On Friday 16th July, 4 - 6.30pm we are holding a community event to display our beautiful collection of African artefacts. We are also inviting anyone from the wider community to share their stories and knowledge to help us understand and interpret these objects within their cultural and historical context. A team of students will be ready to record stories, and take photographs of any African objects you might like to bring in to share.
From September 2020, we are opening the Robin Hood cafe, based in St Alban's Hall on Charles Street.It will open to the public every Saturday from 2 until 6pm, and serve hot and cold drinks, and snacks.