Academy Life

Remembrance Day

On the morning of the 11th, representatives from each year group gathered together in academy square to mark remembrance. A poetry reading was accompanied by the playing of the ‘Last Post’ and two minutes of silent reflection. The morning was appropriately reflective, but as has become customary, served also as a proud occasion for staff: to see our students respond to such a poignant event with great maturity, integrity and respect.

Thank you to all who were involved.

On Thursday 10th November, Leigh Academy Blackheath was proud to host an armed forces veteran as part of our Remembrance commemorations.

Representing Help for Heroes, the leading Armed Forces and veterans' charity in the UK, Mark ‘Lofty’ Taylor delivered a number of assemblies to our KS3 students on the importance of Remembrance day and the struggles faced by veterans. He then spent time with the student government, answering questions on how we can best continue to support those who have sacrificed to keep us all safe. It was a privilege to host Mark, who spoke extremely highly of the conduct of our students, and of the thoughtful nature of their responses.

Cultural Day

What an amazing way to end Module 1 with LAB’s very first Cultural Day. It has been a real success with so many different cultures celebrated through the students' choice of outfits, and money raised for the charity ‘Show Racism the Red Card’.

Welcome from our Parent Governor - Carlo Fabbrini

Hello All,

I am delighted to have been elected parent governor at LAB.

I have been working most of my career as a management consultant in Transformation & Change to improve company performances across industry sectors and I do hope to make my contribution to the school in that space where possible.

Secondary School plays a key role in kids’ development and future and I hope to make a positive contribution through the governing body.

I am Italian and I lived in the UK for 20 years, of which the majority was in Greenwich where I live with our family and two kids. I love traveling and discovering new places. I enjoy playing football, tennis, skiing, and hiking.

I have been also organising dad's football games to fundraise for local schools. I am looking forward to meeting some parents at any of the school events.

Have a lovely Christmas.

Carlo Fabbrini

LAB16 Open Evening

Finally, a reminder that we will continue to offer Post-16 Open Mornings every Wednesday throughout January.

Mr D. Vaughan

Assistant Principal, Head of LAB16

Wednesday 11th January
Wednesday 18th January
Wednesday 25th January

This event is a ticket only one, please click here to book a place https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lab16-open-morning-tickets-490429516887

Application Deadline: ***31st January 2023***

As you will be aware, Leigh Academy Blackheath is opening its Post-16 provision, LAB16, in September 2023. It was wonderful to see so many of you at our Open Event on 24th November. We have already received lots of applications from our Year 11 students. Please be reminded that the deadline for LAB 16 applications is 31st January 2023.

However, we understand that some parents initially experienced difficulties when completing the application form; please be assured that these problems have now been resolved with the system provider and the process is fully operational.

Year 11 students should apply via the link that has been emailed to their primary contact; if they have already started an application via the website, they should continue with this application.

The Post-16 team has visited all Year 11 tutor groups to demonstrate how to complete the application, however if there are any further difficulties, please ask your child to visit the Post-16 area of the library at break. Additionally, if you as parents have any questions, please feel free to email these to lab16@leighacademyblackheath.org.uk.

**Click on the images below to see further information on LAB Life**

Digital Leaders Assembly

Our Digital Leaders have been phenomenal in the past few modules. They are working extremely hard to achieve a certificate in Level 1 and progress up as they complete different activities.

As part of achieving Level 1 of the Digital leaders certificate, our Digital Leaders had to research a specific online safety topic based on the government guidelines of topics from the gov.uk site and as a group; create and deliver a presentation in front of an audience.

They delivered an assembly to the whole school over 3 days; informing peers what Cyberbullying is, how it can be prevented; how to seek help and who to go to. It was very informative allowing all our pupils to leave with some very good tips.

Trip to see Blood Brothers

On Thursday 10th December we took our Y10 GCSE Drama students to watch the touring production of 'Blood Brothers' at the Orchard Theatre.This is the set text studied by students in Year 10 for their GCSE Drama GCSE. The students relished in the opportunity to see the text live on stage; it was a privilege to see the play in its truest form. All students were exemplary and took a lot away from the production.

Creatives Careers Fair

The Creative Careers Fair this year was a fantastic opportunity for our year 9 to 11 cohorts to learn about the exciting breadth of careers and opportunities directly from some extraordinary creative professionals across the Visual Arts and Design industries. Students were introduced to a multitude of careers within the creative sector including roles that they may have never considered. They had a rare opportunity to ask experts in their fields questions and advice as our students begin to think about their own futures and the path to get there.

This opportunity was directed to Year 9 students and our year 10 & 11 GCSE cohort. We particularly encouraged our GCSE students currently taking these subjects: Art, Photography, Computer Science, Design & Technology and Food Technology. We also encouraged year 9 students interested in taking these subjects for GCSE.

A huge thank you to Ms Wilson for organising the event!

TCS London Mini Marathon

Nothing beats the atmosphere of marathon weekend, and some of LAB’s pupils were fortunate enough to run the TCS London Mini Marathon this year!

The 2.6 mile course, starting at Embankment and finishing down The Mall, was lined with supporters cheering for each and every participant as they edged ever closer to the finish line.

A huge well done to our pupils - we hope this opportunity is available to more of our pupils in April 2023; more to follow on this.

LAT Swimming Gala

A group of talented LAB swimmers attended the Leigh Academies Trust Swimming Gala. With some fantastic individual performances, LAB came home with the bronze medal and will look to better this performance next year. A huge congratulations to our swimmers; you did the academy proud!