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Principal's Welcome

I am delighted to share the second edition of the Leigh Academy Bexley newsletter, LABextra! with all our stakeholders.


The whole Academy community has been incredibly busy since our first edition was published in November.  The refurbishment and improvement works continue apace; we now have wonderful new Science laboratories and the Library is now open to students.  Look out for further details of the official opening of the Library in the near future.  Further projects have been completed over the Easter break, including all humanities classrooms, as we continue to deliver on our promise of improving the learning environment for everyone.


External examination season will soon be underway.  We are extremely proud of our Year 11 and 13 students who are fully engaging with all the additional support and interventions provided by the Academy to give our students every chance of success.  We know that this can be a stressful time for our young people and families and have a wealth of support and wellbeing strategies available through our College teams.  


Please enjoy the articles below which will give you a flavour of Academy life at Leigh Academy Bexley.  As always, on behalf of all the staff I would like to thank you for your support as we continue our Academy improvement journey, ensuring we provide a safe environment, a positive culture and a climate of excellence for students.

John Dixon, Principal 

 

As we start another module, we sit back and reflect on all our achievements and how much better it will become. We introduced our interform quiz, starting first with our Christmas Quiz which, due to its success, we continued on to our Easter Quiz. The form with the highest score wins a hamper, jam packed with their favourite snacks – for the whole form group to nibble on! Our college points more than doubled, making Holkham College number one for positive points, we are second for negative, however we know our students are outstanding and know what it takes to be the best.


Lastly, our hearts are filled with trepidation as we see our Year 11s’ final days through before the official exam season falls upon us. So far, they have done us proud through their resilience and growth mindset. Our Holkham College team would like to wish them a huge, good luck, as this would be their final full module at Leigh Academy Bexley. Make this journey count!


Spring brings a sense of fresh beginnings and with this we welcome our very own Holkham College logo.


Ms D Pieroulli

Head of Holkham College

We are now over halfway through the academic year and Knole College has fully established itself. We had a new member of staff, Miss McMullin, join us in February 2024 as our new Student Support Manager. Knole are now fully moved into our new College office.  Students and staff are much happier with it!


It has been a pleasure having assemblies as a college. We have remained in the lead for attendance and positive behaviour points in Module 4. Knole College is really proud of our Knole students as they are working extremely hard to ensure they remain in the lead!


Year 11 have been working incredibly hard as they get closer to their exams. Form times, break and lunch times in the Restaurant have been buzzing with students focusing on their exam preparation. Students are building up their Reach for the Stars points to win their Prom ticket! Lots to look forward to. We are very proud of our year 11s, we wish them well on this exciting journey.


Mrs J Shiyani

Head of Knole College

Petworth's strapline is 'the College of integrity' due to us always striving to behave well even when no one is watching.  We also make a point to say our ties are not grey or silver - they are platinum, as this is very precious and not reactive!


Since our last publication, Petworth College has added a Student Support Manager, Miss West and an administrator, Mrs Byrne, to our college office to assist our students. The Head of College, two Assistant Principals, and the Head of Year continue to be present in everyday school life, and uniform standards, attendance, and conduct have all improved significantly. 


Our Year 7 tutor groups have some of the greatest attendance rates in the school, and we continue to demonstrate our appreciation for their efforts by hosting hot chocolate mornings and providing them with special treats. Petworth is always one of the most well attended Colleges in the academy.  We are also very proud of the fact that Petworth has the least negative points than any other College.  


We have healthy ties with families and promote effective communication for our young people by providing a wide range of high-level support throughout the team.


Mr R Harding

Head of Petworth College

Richmond College are extremely pleased with the progress of students in line with our shared values. Our College has improved attendance and positive behaviour points and has maintained the Academy's high expectations regarding uniform and jewellery.  We are proud of our developing relationships with Richmond families as we provide a secure environment, enabling our students to learn and grow.


Richmond have welcomed guest speakers for International Women’s week, mental health and random acts of kindness assemblies.  Our students have been exemplary in their behaviour and in the manner in which they have thanked the visitors to the Academy.


Richmond Year 11 students have received Reach for the Stars effort points in recognition of their commitment to learning and ultimately to aim for a monetary award towards the Year 11 Prom. All Year 11 students are working hard preparing for the upcoming GCSEs via participation in Super Saturdays, Spring School, My Tutor sessions, Period 6 sessions and master classes to name a few of the ongoing strategies.


Richmond College are eagerly looking forward to taking occupancy of our new college office in the newly refurbished science block with state of the art science laboratories and resources. 


Richmond would like to thank all our families for their continued support as we provide high levels of effective support for our students.


Mr M Crowther-Green

Head of Richmond College

As we approach the midpoint of the fifth module of the Academic year, I am very pleased to report that Woburn sit proudly on top of the Attendance league table with 90.5%. This is a massive 16.6% higher than this time last year, which is a huge testament to the change in Post 16 culture at Leigh Academy Bexley. It's of no surprise to me that this has lead to what looks like a much healthier set of both current and forecast grades for years 12 and 13.  


61% of our year 13 cohort have applied to university for this Autumn and the offers have been coming in. Students have received offers from prestigious institutes such as King’s College, Queen Mary, University College London and Manchester, amongst other good institutes. We also have students applying for higher apprenticeships and Soburoh in Year 13 has been offered a great opportunity at AECOM to undertake an apprenticeship in Project Management, which includes a BSC Degree in Construction.


At the end of Module 4 we gave all Woburn students an opportunity to visit the University of Kent. The popular university's campus is based in the city of Canterbury and gave our young people the opportunity to see what university life is like; as well as specific seminars that were tailored to support Year 13’s preparation for leaving sixth form, the Year 12s went through the university application process in preparation for creating their UCAS accounts.  We will also be hosting an event run by DVF Recruitment, a London based firm, who will take our students through the application process and preparation for apprenticeship opportunities.


Finally, as we prepare our curriculum for a new cohort in September 2024, we are pleased to inform you that after popular demand we have decided to add A level Maths to our Post 16 curriculum for September 2024, we may also offer Government and Politics in addition to the original subjects offered. We are also excited to roll out our new T levels in Finance and Digital. T levels are courses that include extensive work experience as part of the course, equivalent to 3 A levels, covering a variety of disciplines within each course. Please contact Mr Wilson (post16@labexley.org.uk) or a member of the Woburn team if you have any interest in studying T levels. 


Mr P Wilson

Head of Woburn College

English

The English Department are thrilled to be in their recently refurbished classrooms and staff and students are enjoying the bright calm environment. 


As is the custom, the English Department embraced World Book Day; can you guess the characters in the picture on the left? 


Year 11 are to be congratulated for their dedication to the recent mock exams.  To support their stamina in writing essays,  each week they take part in a Writing for Excellence session.  When surveyed, 80% acknowledged that the sessions were supporting their focus and improving the quality of their work.  Speaking and Listening assessments have been completed and subjects have been varied, and include:  the dangers of AI, the likelihood of a World War 3, to personal stories around family.  It’s such a privilege to hear young people presenting their ideas. 


Year 10 have finished studying the power and conflict poetry anthology and have enjoyed understanding that power and conflict isn’t just about war.  Studies are now focussed on the skills for the English Language GCSE. 


Key Stage 3 

Students in year 7 are enjoying the magic that is Shakespeare’s Midsummer's Night Dream and in contrast year 9 are all embroiled in all things Gothic.  Having studied the genre they have written some fantastic gothic tales, the best of which are on display on Wow Walls in English classrooms.   Year 8 are looking at poetry from other cultures and gaining an appreciation of how lives across the globe are in many cases very different from their own, in both how people live and challenges faced. 


Finally we are delighted to welcome two new colleagues, Miss Galambos and Miss Rafferty who joined the team after Easter, as well as being thrilled to see Miss House back with us after her teacher training placement; she has been much missed. 

Maths

In Maths, students have embraced Sparx homework and we would like to take the opportunity to thank all parents for their support.  The Sparx homework corresponds to the teaching and learning which has taken place in the classroom.  It has been observed that students have fully embraced the teaching going on in their lessons and we are very proud of them.   It has been a joy observing students being active learners and enjoying their lessons.


In Year 7 students have been working on: fractions, factors multiples, primes, co ordinates, shape properties, perimeter and area.  Our Year 8 students have been working on: properties of 3D shapes, volume and surface area, venn diagrams, standard form, area of shapes, solving shape properties and midpoints of coordinates.  In Year 9 students have been working on: distance time graphs, compound measures, linear graphs, proportion, Pythagoras’ theorem, plans and elevations of 3D shapes and error intervals.


The Year 10 foundation students have been working on: graphs, ratio and proportion, Pythagoras’ theorem and 3D shapes and the Year 10 higher students have been working on: graphs, combining ratios, compound measure, tree diagrams and set notation.


Our Year 11 students completed their second mock GCSE during Module 4 and are working on a detailed question analysis on their strengths and areas of development, in preparation for the forthcoming exam season. 

Congratulations to four of our Year 10 students: Aron, Anjola, Sophie and Isabella who represented Leigh Academy Bexley at the Year 10 Maths Feast competition at Ebbsfleet Academy. They were congratulated for working extremely well on all the rounds in this national competition.

Drama

Last module Year 7 were exploring the real story behind Bugsy Malone investigating The Great Depression, Prohibition and Sleep Easy Bars. We have looked at the real life Bugsy Malone alongside the Mafia bosses of that era such as Al Capone and Bugs Moran. This raised discussion about gangs and why people join. Naturally we moved onto a light hearted and funny play by Bugsy Malone. The Year 7s have now selected scenes and learnt how to ‘block’ and build characters, which will culminate in a performance for their assessment. 

Our Year 8 students were introduced to Verbatim Theatre through Mark Wheeler's play ‘Too Much Punch For Judy’. They have selected various scenes, some comedy and some emotional. At this point we encourage them to use abstract theatre combined with naturalism to have a heightened impact on their audience.

All Year 9 classes have been investigating the impact of social media, exploring the pros and cons. They have been tasked with writing and creating a Theatre In Education piece targeting Year 7s to inform them about the dangers of social media. This has involved research and literacy skills, as well as directing and performing. 

The Year 10s are now completing a 12 hour written assessment for their Btec Component 1, which they have been preparing for through both theoretical and practical research into the devised play called ‘Things I Know To Be True’ written by Andrew Bovell. This play was devised by Scott Graham from Frantic Assembly and Geordie Brookman from The State Theatre Company in South Australia.  It is about the conflicts in one family between the parents and the adult children, and the clash of changing generational values.  It has a complex creative process which led to an extremely powerful play. The students have studied and practically experienced this process in preparation for this assessment.      

 

LABex Drama Club has grown into a huge success with numbers up to 30 students, all rehearsing for their first performance to a live audience after Easter.  Various students are involved from across Key Stage 3 and have been working on a range of scripts from many different genres.  It has been a delight working with such a talented group of artistes and we look forward to seeing them perform.

IT

Our Year 8 and Year 9 students had the opportunity to look into the history of Computer Science and Programming.  Last module we started looking at an introduction to programming and our students are currently learning how to programme using “Python”.


The world was at war, Britain was fighting the Nazis. German soldiers / government were sending messages to each other in order to communicate strategies. British Intelligence was managing to intercept these messages – but they were encrypted, but if there was a way to decrypt / decipher the messages, then Britain could get vital information about their enemy! Alan Turing played a vital role in deciphering the messages encrypted by the German Enigma machine, which provided vital intelligence for the Allies. He took the lead in a team that designed a machine known as the ‘bombe’ that successfully decoded German messages. 


Alan Turing and the Bombe Machine (currently in Bletchley Park)


The Bombe machine 

We’ve looked at different ways to encrypt and decrypt. Here is an example of the Pig Pen Ciphers and how it works.

PE

PE Department Update: Fitness Focus and Winter Sports Success

Module 3, Key Stage 3 PE classes were all about fitness!


Winter Warriors: Embracing the Elements

Module 4 brought winter sports skills, tactics, and strategies to the forefront. Despite the rain, students showed great resilience, honing their skills and knowledge outdoors. When weather forced a change of plans, they adapted like champs!


Beyond the Classroom: Celebrating Extracurricular Achievements

Our PE programme extends beyond lessons, with football and basketball leading the popularity charts!  We sent teams to four Leigh Academy Trust 5-a-side football tournaments, and all the teams displayed excellent sportsmanship on and off the field. A special shout-out to the Year 10 Girls team who narrowly missed the finals after a tough game against the undefeated Stationers' Academy Crown Woods team (who ultimately won the tournament).


Looking Ahead: Competition and Summer Fun

Get ready for some exciting competition! Module 5 will see our students battling it out in the Bexley championships and Leigh Academies Trust sports days.  And the fun doesn't stop there – we'll also be offering a variety of summer sports clubs!

PSHE

In Module 4, our focus was on Healthy Relationships. All years have learnt about respectful relationship behaviours and have explored the idea of consent.


Year 7 have learnt about puberty, exploring the physical and psychological changes they may be experiencing, as well as having a ‘hands-on’ opportunity to learn about menstrual products. Our Year 8s have been looking at the use of language, how to describe genders and contraception. Importantly our Year 9s have looked more closely at the importance of consent and how to look after their sexual health.


Year 10 lessons have focused on unrealistic expectations as a result of the rise of online pornography. Alongside exploring more the differences between persuasion, pressure and coercion. 


Our Year 11 students have continued the ‘hands on’ theme in their lessons exploring how to use contraceptives correctly and safely preparing them for adult life. 

Module 4 was a busy time raising awareness of equal rights with a competition run to acknowledge and encourage student engagement on International Women’s Day. Over 40 students submitted entries having toured the Academy throughout the day, looking to match the teacher to their chosen female inspirational woman. 

Red Nose Day saw students and staff invited to ‘rebel’ against school rules for the day being allowed to wear red socks and accessories in recognition of Comic Relief. The PE Department kindly responded to Year 9’s request to run an inter-college team dodgeball event to again raise money for a worthy charity. 

Assembly themes of this module have ranged from sharing the history of International Women's Day, inspiring students to see a future in studying and benefit from employment opportunities in STEM. Pi Day saw students encouraged to seek out Mr Wear, Director of Learning Maths, to recite as many digits of Pi as they could remember! 

We ended the Module with huge excitement for Cultural Capital day on 28th March where the majority of the Academy signed up to visit various attractions. Assemblies reminded students of our Academy expectations and what it means to represent LABex out in public. 

SEN

SEND provision at Leigh Academy Bexley is growing with more interventions happening daily. 

We are now offering interventions to over 200 students with many attending two or more, depending on areas of need.

Communication between the SEND team and staff has really improved with increased responses to Round Robins and resulting in more students being identified and support or referrals being actioned.  

More students are now being supported in class by LSAs using a wider range of resources to increase learning engagement and understanding.


SEND interventions on offer:


Zones of Regulation  Supports students to regulate their emotions using taught strategies to manage and identify triggers.

Auditory Memory  Provides strategies to support students with their auditory memory who may display difficulties retaining information.

Lego Therapy  Promotes social interaction using collaborative play in a structured setting using Lego to develop social skills.

Reading Wise  Personalized programme to improve students’ reading ability by delivering bitesize lessons in small group setting.

Lexia  Accelerates literacy skill development with an online intervention and is targeted towards students with dyslexic tendencies.

Retracking  Supports students who are at risk of exclusion to improve school engagement, improve behavior and reduce time in PC.

Wellbeing  Provides problem solving strategies and emotional support to be able to manage school and social situations.

Draw and Talk/Sand Therapy  Supports emotional needs by allowing students to express, explore, share and process emotions without verbally voicing it.

Friends Resilience  Promotes resilience by providing taught strategies to manage anxiety, promote self-confidence and develop friendship skills.

Emotional Literacy Support Assistance  Supports the emotional needs of students by providing social skills, solution focus and building emotional networks.


Students in the Learning Engagement Centre (LEC) have been engaging more and more in mainstream classes supported by Mr Korley. The LEC students also collaborated on a Mental Health and Wellbeing Display. 

Humanities

The Humanities Department had a very busy module 4! We prepared to temporarily move out of our area to allow a complete renovation of the Humanities floor. The proposed plans are very exciting and will allow a much more cohesive teaching space.  A special thanks to all of the Holkham students who have helped with the move (and the two 6th formers who came in on their day off)! 


Students have been working hard on completing topics in History that deal with source analysis and historical skills  across Key Stage 3. They are contesting interpretations of King John, assigning fault in the battle of Peterloo and gathering evidence about the different leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement.  At Key Stage 3 RE, year 7 and 8 have been learning about the leaders of the big 6 religions and year 9 have been turning their minds to some moral/ethical/religious problems surrounding cloning, animal testing and euthanasia. Key Stage 3 geographers have been exploring human development and the impact this has on future planning and environmental complications. 


At GCSE, we have been running a 30 day challenge, during which students completed an exam question or revision activity a day. We are pleased that a number of students were successful in completing all 30 days whilst a number of others have developed their practice by dipping in and out of the challenge. Engagement and revision are definitely increasing. We also have Caroline Robinson (Leigh Academies Trust  History Curriculum Advisor) booked in to begin working with our History students who are sitting on the 3/4  or 6/7 boundaries and the entire Geography cohort has been attending sessions with Jeff Lutz (Leigh Academies Trust Geography Curriculum Advisor) and Anthony Farr (Vice Principal, Stationers' Crown Woods Academy) to help fill knowledge gaps and learn some key tips and tricks for the exams.  A small group of Year 10 Historians are working with Mrs Turner in lessons on a Friday Period 4 to focus on literacy and language as part of a trial for early intervention which we hope to roll out to Year 10 historians towards the end of the year. 


Our Year 11 Religious Studies GCSE class have engaged well with our virtual revision sessions every Wednesday from 7.30-8.30pm. These sessions aim to revisit prior learning and focus on exam skills and techniques in preparation for exams which are approaching soon. 


With the end of term fast approaching, we made the final preparations for Cultural Capital Day which saw our Year 10 Geographers beginning their fieldwork in and around Canary Wharf and Year 10 Historians stepping into the Old Operating theatre and the Golden Hind (picture left) to cover content for both papers 1 and 2 of their GCSEs. 

Photography

Our Year 10 Photography students have been exploring the theme of Power within Photography. Looking at and taking their own photographs that explore the power of camera angle and how photographers use powerful lighting effects. 


Our Year 11 Photography students have been working independently on their externally set assignment exploring the theme of Power. Planning and creating their own photoshoots that explore the theme. 

Art

All Year 7 students are exploring Painting and Colour theory.  Students have been learning about the color wheel, tints, tones and shades. Practicing painting and learning to control a paint brush.


Our Year 8 students have been making digital artworks. Exploring the use of Photopea to edit imagery and create their own surreal compositions. 


Our Year 9 students have been exploring portraiture.  Practicing the Lumis method and use of the grid to improve the drawing accuracy of their portraits. 


Our Year 10 Art students have started a new project exploring the theme of Power. They started by looking at the work of sign painters and the Power of text within Art. This is in preparation for creating their own sign paintings over the next couple of weeks. 


All Year 11 Art students have been working independently on their externally set assignment exploring the theme of Power. Creating their own sculptures and paintings inspired by their own ideas about the theme. 


Students have had the opportunity to enter the Leigh Academies Trust Visual Arts Competition and have offered some phenomenal work!  Here are some of the entries: 

Music

Our Key Stage 3 students have explored how Music is made up of different elements and how the structure of pieces can alter the chosen style. After studying the bass and treble clef they embarked on learning to play the keyboard. They are now working on creating music for advertising using BandLab to write emotive music and jingles. 


Our talented Year 11 musicians have been busy composing music for their Btec Tech award in Music Practice. This is their Component 3 which challenges them to take a well known commercial tune and alter it's style to make it appeal to a teenage audience. We look forward to listening to their final creations! 

Science

The theme for the STEM club on Mondays last module has been Space.  The students have created a moon habitat and modern satellites. Thank you to the Science Department and Mr Bangard for running this brilliant club.