Secondary
Academies
The Leigh Academy
The Leigh Academy Medal at the National Gymnastics Championships
Following on from the brilliant success of The Leigh Academy boys’ gymnastics team in the South-East finals where they won two gold medals, the boys moved on to the first of three national finals. On Saturday 11th March the Under 16’s boys trio team competed in the British Schools Gymnastics association (BSGA) national finals, held in Stoke-on-Trent .
The competition consists of three disciplines: a vault; an individual floor routine and a group floor routine. The team performed well and attained the highest score in the group floor routine. Overall, the team finished third and achieved a national bronze medal. This is an fantastic achievement, especially as The Leigh Academy gymnastics team was only formed this academic year and this was their first time competing in national finals. Thanks too, to Mr Fryer our new PE teacher for dedicating his time to this new competitive sport at The Leigh Academy
Congratulations to all that took part.
Partnership with the University of Greenwich
On Monday 6th March, a group of business and finance students in Year 12 were able to visit the campus of the University of Greenwich as part of the Business Mentoring Partnership we have with them.
Students were given a tour of the beautiful campus to get a feel for university life and then experienced a lecture style session, where they got to learn about what is on offer across the three University of Greenwich sites. After lunch, the group were then set up on the e-mentoring suite that they will use to communicate with their mentors, once they have been paired up. This partnership is designed to help Year 12 students navigate their way through the process of choosing between a degree or an apprenticeship and selecting university courses that might match their aspirations and predicted grades.
World Book Day
As an academy that revels in knowing that we give our young people exciting opportunities to experience a range of events, it was decided that we would not just celebrate World Book Day this year, rather that we would have a World Book Week, exploring the genre of murder mystery writing. Students walked into a whole academy crime scene, with victims everywhere!
Key stage 3 students in particular had a lot to do during World Book Week. During library lessons the students were encouraged to put their detective thinking caps on and work out who the murderer was in the murder mystery panic room. Using the clues and evidence supplied to them, the students had to investigate the murder of library assistant, Mrs Terry and uncover ‘whodunnit!' This was no mean feat and had the students using every inch of their brain power and detective skills to unpick the evidence. Who did murder Mrs Terry…?
Celebrating Success through The Duke of Edinburgh Award at The Leigh Academy
On Thursday 16th March, following hours of volunteering, learning new skills, the torment of blisters, heavy backpacks, temperamental tents and miles of walking, our intrepid Duke of Edinburgh Award students finally received what they'd worked so hard for - their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award certificate and badge.
This group of students have the honour of being our first bronze award holders and they should be very proud of everything they have learned and every skill they have developed.
The evening began with the melodic Barnabas, a Year 11 student at The Leigh, who demonstrated his incredible talent as a pianist. Award winners and their parents were invited to the event and they were certainly enthralled by Barnabas' playing.
After the introduction to the ceremony by Mrs. Collins, Principal, we were delighted to welcome Robert Gill, the Duke of Edinburgh Operations Manager for Kent who expressed his admiration for everything our students have achieved over the last 18 months. Following this, Ms Marshall took over the reins and introduced the students who had taken part in the award. We listened to some wonderful presentations from the award winners about the volunteering, skill learning and physical elements of the Duke of Edinburgh Award, and it was obvious to all that attaining the award is not a walk in the park - it takes dedication, resilience and tenacity. Finally the moment arrived when the students received their awards, presented to them by Mrs Collins, in the form of beautifully framed certificates and smart DofE badges.
It has to be remembered that in order for our DofE students to be successful, there has to be a staff team who support them throughout all of the processes. This includes additional training so that all aspects of the award can take place, and as such the staff were also rewarded on the night by Robert Gill who presented the team with their Basic Camp Leaders certificates.
Huge thanks must go to Mr Hill (DofE Manager for The Leigh), Ms Marshall (Deputy Manager), Mrs Collins, Mrs Van Leeuwen, Mr Pearson, Miss Keveth and Miss Croft. Special thanks needs to go to Miss Keogh, who saw our students through the award last year. Although Miss Keogh is not a teacher at the academy now, she made the journey all the way from Swindon to celebrate with our award winners that evening.
This year, for the first time ever, we have two cohorts of students preparing to tackle the challenge of The Duke of Edinburgh Awards - one bronze and one silver. We are immensely proud of the bronze award winners who, having braved the bronze award, are now tackling the silver. This means longer hours of preparation, skill learning, volunteering and an even longer expedition: two nights and three days away from the comfort of their own homes, their own beds, and hot running water.
Please join us in wishing the students the best of luck, and we look forward to celebrating another evening of more Duke of Edinburgh Awards next year.
Longfield Academy
Shakespeare Schools Festival
The performing arts department was extremely proud this term, to have a group of outstanding performers participate in the Shakespeare Schools Festival at the Woodville Halls, alongside our peers at Milestone Academy. A team of actors from across all the year groups, and one student director, performed A Midsummer Night's Dream in which the organisers commented upon the excellent characterisation of the different characters as well as the comic timing of the mechanicals and the feistiness of the lovers. The costumes and professional organisation of the props were also noted as being outstanding. We are so proud of the students and how well they conducted themselves all day, both on and off stage. They were a credit to the academy.
Thank you to all the parents and staff who came to support them, as well as the staff of the expressive arts department for their help with some of the trickier props!
Showcase at The Mick Jagger Centre
On Friday 17th March students: Sam Duffort, Hollie-Ann Legg, Nicole Konno, Jess Boxall, Freya Hardy, Erin Malpas, Georgia Sharrad, Sophie Arthur and Giulia Gherman took part in a singing showcase at The Mick Jagger Centre in Dartford. The show was co-organised by Longfield's singing teacher, Jessica Wright and private singing teacher, Julie Wright and has been running for 11 years.
All students performed wonderfully in front of over 200 audience members in a combination of solo and group songs.
Longfield Academy students have worked incredibly hard with Jessica over the past year and it was so great for them to have the opportunity to showcase their progress and growth in confidence for their family and friends. They should all be very proud of themselves!
Photography Trip to London and The Tate Modern
Photography students had a fantastic time in London on our recent trip to The Tate Modern. The students used this time to take photographs for their exam projects, inspired by themes such as age, our world, low light and objects. All students were able to find inspiring compositions to help them develop ideas for their individual work and took some amazing photographs! When we went into the museum, the students found inspiration in the art work, sculptures and installations on display, which has led to some students considering video or sound as part of their project development.
Wilmington Academy
British Council: International School Award: Wilmington Academy - Full Accreditation
On 20 March, Wilmington Academy and Leigh Academies Trust Principal, Michael Gore, was invited to the prestigious Houses of Parliament to receive the Full International School Award from the CEO of the British Council. The award was presented to the academy for a commitment to supporting peace and prosperity through building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.
The event hosted many dignitaries, including MPs and other award winners from across the UK.
Mr Gore reported:
‘It is with great pride and privilege that I accept the International School Award on behalf of the students and staff at Wilmington Academy. This award is a symbol of our continuous drive to expose our students to global opportunities and develop a deep understanding of different cultures. As an IB World School, we are committed to a philosophy that underpins better learners for a better world. I want to thank all those within our community who have contributed towards the Award.’
Wilmington Academy was successful in gaining the prestigious full award as they demonstrated evidence of meeting the following criteria:
working with international partners on a range of projects throughout the academic year
embedding an international ethos and work across the whole school
sharing educational practice with partners in other countries and implementing change across the school.
Wilmington Academy was also successful because it was able to clearly demonstrate its commitment to international education throughout the entire school. This involved clear plans of activity and impact assessments to develop the quality of both international education and the educational mindedness of its students.
The Leigh UTC
On Wednesday 8th March 2023, the Leigh UTC hosted their annual awards dinner. We are incredibly proud of all our students at Leigh UTC, but the achievements of some deserve additional recognition.
Our community extends beyond our physical footprint, and we embraced the opportunity to celebrate success with many of our partners and stakeholders. Our guests for the evening included representatives from the Leigh Academies Trust executive and central team. The support and strength of the Trust enables us to serve young people with more efficiency, focusing on what can enhance their educational experience.
Our business partners, some of which were present, provide opportunities and exposure for our students which are unparelleled. There is also no greater evidence of our work than when members of our alumni visit, and we were fortunate to have some present at this event and were able to hear about their journey beyond the foundation they had experienced with us.
The remarkable and exciting destinations of our students continues, with many going to university studying STEM based courses, including courses in engineering specialisms such as aerospace, mechanical, software or civil. Our students are also very successful at acquiring apprenticeships based on their chosen specialism, working for prestigious companies.
Our master of ceremonies for the evening was our Chair of Governors Mr Clive Barker. The evening began by hearing from some of our alumni whose biographies can be read below:
Matt James - Matt joined The Leigh UTC in 2014 as one of our first students to do product design and engineering.
He gained an A level product design (B) and a BTEC Extended Diploma engineering ( A*, A*A) which meant he was able to go to university to study for BSc Architectural Technology (Hons) and MSc Architecture & Sustainability (MSc). He is currently working as a technical architect with a private architecture firm.
Hope Abiola - Hope joined The Leigh UTC in September 2014 and in Year 10 studied for her GCSEs and BTEC Engineering qualification. She went on to university and has qualified with a BSc Architectural Technology (First Class with Honours).
Hope is currently employed at Laing O’Rourke as a design technician.
Jonathan Bailey - Jon joined the UTC in 2020 for Post 16 to study engineering BTEC and A level maths. He felt this was the best place for him as it gave him the flexibility to then choose a pathway of either university or an apprenticeship.
He achieved : BTEC engineering (D*D) , maths (B), EPQ (B) physics (D) and is currently doing a level 6 degree apprenticeship with Troup Bywaters + Anders.
The delicious starter was followed by a category of special awards, each presented by one of our close business partners. See below for the list of award winners along with the award sponsor.
Denis Kerxhaliu Cleantec STEM Year 10
Claire Bryant Cucina STEM Year 10
Ivan Palmer ECITB STEM Year 12
Jason Robbins Kenard Engineering Year 10
Tyler Whitehead Alumni Engineering Year 10
Farrah Baldock SEM Engineering Year 12
Oliver Rumbol Business Mentors Design Year 12
Kian Frost CSB Computer Science Year 10
Darren Passoulas Fujitsu Computer Science Year 12
Blake Dymond ASN Outstanding Achievement Year 12
Temi Odusi Baker Dearing Trust Outstanding Achievement Year 10
Umed Uddin Texel Apprentice of the Year Award
Joseph Ehigie Texel Apprentice of the Year Award
Thad Mehmet Staff Enterprise Year 12
Business Partner of the Year Fujitsu
However, possibly the most impressive performance of the evening was that of Sam Copley in Year 13 who wowed the audience with his charismatic presentation of his EPQ presentation.
The silent auction that took place raised in excess of £10,000.
Mascalls Academy
This module has seen a continued uplift in the number of students engaging in extracurricular activities within the academy and in the wider local and global community. Over the half term break Year 12 and 13 photography students went to New York to experience the dynamic art provision in The Big Apple. 45 Year 11 students visited Barcelona to practise their linguistic skills along Las Ramblas, and the MFL department were so proud of their level of confidence communicating with locals and representing the academy so well. Product design students visited Florence and saw the production lines where Ferrari build their cars and everything that the Italian lifestyle has to offer.
45 Year 9 students have embarked upon their training for our first cohort of the Duke of Edinburgh Award for many years. Miss Gough and her DofE team are looking forward to supporting students to achieve their Bronze award, and plans are already underway for many to complete the Silver Award in Year 10. As part of the award, students recently volunteered, along with Mrs Brooks, as marshalls for the Paddock Wood Half Marathon and did a great job, despite the 8am on a Sunday morning start! Mrs Brooks and Miss Gough have been invited to Buckingham Palace to celebrate the fantastic numbers that have engaged in the award this academic year. Well done Year 9 and good luck with your expedition in May.
Congratulations to all the drama club students (over 60 of them!) who have been attending on a Monday after school throughout this academic year. They created a wonderful evening performance of Alice in Wonderland which many staff, students, parents/carers and grandparents attended. In addition to this, we welcomed students from Paddock Wood Primary to come and see a matinee performance of the show; the cheers from the audience were deafening! Not all students that attend drama club are on the stage and huge congratulations should go to all those who created and managed the set design and the technical aspects of the performance. It was another fantastic way to celebrate the diverse talents that our Mascalls Academy students have!
It was time, once again for our Year 11 and 13 to perform their final exam pieces in dance, drama and music. From Leo, Lance and Hugo performing ‘The Jam’, to a dance piece which represented the political landscape we are currently in, the level of talent, enthusiasm and love of performing arts was just exceptional. It truly was a night to remember and we are so proud of all of our students who performed and to our Year 9 students, Ben, Rio and Sam who managed all of the technical side of the performance for the first time without external support.
Ebbsfleet Academy
Ebbsfleet Academy Colour Run in Aid of Epilepsy Action
On Monday 6th February, Ebbsfleet Academy held our first ‘Colour Run’. We are delighted that our community raised £1670 for Epilepsy Action and we all came together to remember Faith. Here are a few photos from the afternoon.
Ebbsfleet Academy Careers Fair
Our key stage 4 students enjoyed the opportunity to speak with local employers and further education establishments. With representatives from law, sports, construction and further education, the students felt inspired to consider their next steps.
Ebbsfleet Academy Teacher Recognised
We are delighted to share that Ms Horn has been recognised by Essex County Archery Association for her contribution to archery across the county. Ms Horn runs our medal winning archery team after school every Friday and is hoping to share her skills with others in our local community in the near future.
Supporting The Little Princess Trust
This term we would also like to celebrate Verity, one of our Year 7 Students. During the half term Verity had her hair cut short for The Little Princess Trust. Verity donated 19 inches of hair! Verity has also started a Just Giving page to raise the money to cover the cost of having a wig made which is £550. At the time of writing this report, Verity and our community had raised over £1,300.
A Book Fair Visit
A scholastic book fair came to visit Ebbsfleet Academy this term. Students were able to browse and buy new books to develop their love of reading. We would like to thank everyone who purchased books and gift cards. We have secured many new books for our library.
A Break From the Norm for Year 11 English Classes
Year 11 students have been engaging in weekly ‘Lessons of Excellence’ for English Literature over the past few weeks, requiring them to work with the support of their teachers on preparing exam responses across the week and writing with support on Fridays.
Year 11 students worked collaboratively during this time to unpick the extract they were given in their recent mock and to deconstruct the meaning of the question. Students completed the lesson by redrafting a paragraph utilising their newly acquired understanding.
Science Week at Ebbsfleet Academy
The students at Ebbsfleet Academy had lots of science fun during this week. We had a visit from Dr Elissa Raad from Darent Valley Hospital. She spoke to our students about specialising as an emergency doctor and a general practitioner. The meeting was also joined by a cosmetic scientist and a radiographer.
Our Year 7 & 8 students had fun designing and building bridges.
World Book Day
At Ebbsfleet Academy we had a lot of fun on World Book Day. The highlight was staff dressing up and students completing a treasure hunt & quiz.
Hayesbrook Academy
This has been another super busy term with our confirmed new Year 7 intake being confirmed at 180 students with over 20% females for our first co-educational cohort. All 180 students and their families attended a welcome event and we are busy organising visits and transition days to familiarise one another.
The site refurbishment has continued with Bevan classrooms, the library, and corridor wall art and next term will focus on the music block, main reception, toilet/changing areas and landscaping.
Departmental updates
Our science department ran a fun experiment session for KS3 pupils during British Science week which is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering, and maths.
Pupils enjoyed doing flame tests, methane bubbles, screaming jelly babies, and ‘whoosh’ bottle experiments.
Our geography department took Year 11 students to the London Borough of Newham in Stratford, to investigate the impact of regeneration and gentrification following the 2012 Olympic Games. The students compared areas that had been regenerated such as the Queen Elizabeth Park and the former Athletes village (East Village) against two areas that had not, in the form of Hackney Wick and Stratford New Town. At each of the sites the students recorded the amount of services, perceptions of the environment and perceptions of crime. They also completed questionnaires near the Westfield Shopping Centre and a field sketch of the main changes within the park. The group will be able to use the data collected to support their GCSE examinations - the Geography qualification encourages both physical and human fieldwork elements.
A huge congratulations from the maths department to all Hayesbrook students for reaching 8th place on the national leadership board for Sparx!
Year 10 were visited by Impact Food, who operate our catering with one of their suppliers, Tugo Foods. They ran a workshop designing a new pizza for the dining hall which the students thoroughly enjoyed designing and tasting!
As term neared its close, students enjoyed a Year 10 and Year 11 Macbeth GCSE English theatre trip and 40 students prepared for their Easter ski trip to La Thuile, Italy.
Fundraising
The PTA ran “Break the Uniform Rules Day” where students could NOT wear an item of formal uniform or wear an entire home clothes outfit on the last day of term. Over £1100 was raised to fund lunchtime sports equipment. We will be repeating this event on the last day of this term to fund outdoor seating and shade.
Three members of the Student Leadership Team served and sold refreshments during Year 7 Parents’ Evening and raised £50 for equipment for our art and PE departments.
Next term sees the return of our hugely popular PTA Quiz Night - tickets selling fast!
Stationers' Crown Woods Academy
Ofsted
It has been a time of celebration at Stationers’ Crown Woods Academy. After a long awaited 5½ years, we finally got our Ofsted!
I couldn’t have been more proud of the school community and want to deeply thank all the support we received from our governors, the Stationers’ Company and the Trust. We all pulled together as one and I am delighted to say the inspectors were able to recognise and appreciate the excellent work and positive impact staff are having on the school community.
We had a fabulous evening celebrating our students and their achievements at our annual Stationers’ prize giving event at the newly refurbished Stationers’ Hall in January. It is always such a wonderful occasion and the hospitality and generosity of the Stationers’ Company makes it an extra special event. We are thankful to the Master for presenting some of the awards and celebrating with the academy, our students and their families.
Year 10 Jack Petchey’s ‘Speak Out!’ Challenge
Every year, SCWA takes part in Jack Petchey’s ‘Speak Out!’ challenge which aims to amplify young people’s voices by building confidence, developing skills and creating platforms for young people to share their stories and ideas. In addition to participating in a transformative full day workshop, selected students participate in a progressive competition, reaching their potential and inspiring thousands of people with their speeches.
This year over 90 students were involved in school and Year 10 student Isobel was selected to represent SCWA at the Greenwich Schools Regional Final in mid March. Her presentation was faultless and she was a credit both to her year and to Stationers' Crown Woods Academy. Well done Isobel!
SCWA Year 7 Netball
Coached by Miss Allen, the SCWA Year 7 netball team played their first match on 20th March against St Mary Magdalene, playing 3 x 7-minute thirds. SCWA took the lead in the first third with an excellent opening goal from Immy, thrown from 2 metres away from the hoop! St Mary's played at a fast and physical pace, equalising the score and taking the lead in the first third. SCWA rose to the challenge, showing their skill to assist Sophie, who levelled the score for SCWA in the final third. This was quickly followed by another goal from Immy, which put us in the lead with a score of 3 - 2. With such a large home team, we agreed to play an additional slot, within which St Marys equalised and the final score was 3 - 3. This was a brilliant experience for our home team as their first match, particularly against such an experienced side. We congratulate the team for representing the academy in such a skilful, sophisticated and dignified manner.
Creative Careers Fair
Stationers’ Crown Woods held its very first Creative Careers Fair on Wednesday 8 February. Our creative subjects film, media, photography, art, textiles and design technology invited students from Years 9, 11 and the 6th Form to showcase the careers available in these sectors and to celebrate creativity in education.
Our Digital Media Centre was transformed into a hub of activity as students spoke to our guests, watched videos and engaged in career quizzes to find out what was available to them. We were incredibly pleased to have the support of two representatives from The Stationers’ Company - Bivas Ambasada and Colin McHenry.
Filmmaker and Stationer Bivas Ambasada presented his work and inspired our Year 11 digital media, GCSE media and GCSE film students with a talk about his role and the industry and answered questions from our aspiring filmmakers.
Design technology welcomed Colin McHenry from The Stationers' Company to talk to a select group of Year 9 students about his career in the print industry. He talked with great enthusiasm of the opportunities London has to offer in expanding their cultural and creative horizons. Mr McHenry also helped launch the design brief for our new ‘Celebrating Excellence’ design competition; he will be providing ongoing industry mentoring, along with other Stationers, to the competing students to ensure their proposals are professional and appropriate.
It was a fantastic event which helped inspire students into thinking about career pathways within the creative industries.
The Stationers’ Company Mentor Programme
SCWA are in a privileged position where we are able to offer our sixth form students the fantastic opportunity to work with professionals of The Stationers’ Company via the Stationers’ Mentoring Programme. To date, 27 students across Year 12 and 13 are involved in the two year scheme where students receive bespoke, one-to-one, long-term, professional guidance from esteemed business experts, who have such a fantastic range of knowledge, skills and experience. In addition to this, students have benefited from paid work experience placements, trips and access to key career related events.
Leigh Academy Blackheath
Spring is a time of celebration, and we are doing just that at LAB as we reach the end of a very busy module 4. Following the publication of our recent Ofsted report, we are delighted to share that our very special learning community has been judged Outstanding in all categories. Resilience is one of our core values, and we certainly have been since we opened in September 2018, as over the last 4.5 years we have called 4 different buildings on 3 different sites our home, as well as surviving the many varied challenges of a global pandemic. Here are some of our favourite parts of the report:
‘Leaders provide a curriculum which matches and far exceeds the ambition of the national curriculum.’
‘Staff are proud to work at this school where everyone’s contribution is valued.’
‘Pupils behave exceptionally well. Classrooms are calm places where pupils can focus on their learning.’
‘Leaders provide excellent development opportunities for all staff. They are conscious of staff workload and well-being.’
The academy is also celebrating our recent authorisation for the IB Diploma and Career Related programmes. LAB is already an IB World School, but now it is 1 of only 2 non-selective state secondary schools in the UK that is authorised to deliver the full suite of secondary phase IB programmes. LAB16 opens in September 2023, and we can’t wait to start the next stage of our exciting journey.
Founding students who have applied to study at LAB16 have been busy attending a number of pre-study events. These included attending a talk by Caius College, Cambridge and visiting Mansfield College, Oxford University. Here are some of the highlights from the trip to Oxford University, from Nathan, a LAB Founder:
‘The day began with a seminar during which students were given a lecture based on a whole manner of subjects relating to university life, from subject choices, tuition fees and the application process to selecting future careers which proved to be an informative and fascinating look at the years that lie ahead and provided an opportunity to contemplate our futures and the decisions we will take post-16. Following this we then had a Q&A session with four Mansfield College students studying geography, PPE (philosophy, politics and economics), history and mathematics and we were able to ask a variety of questions and understand university life from a student perspective as well as discussing how studying the IB prepares students for university level study.
Before departing, we enjoyed the delightful experience of making solar cells with a group of students studying material sciences which introduced many of us to a totally new field which proved to be fascinating and engaging. We discussed energy in the UK, the transition to renewable energy and the issues surrounding it, all very poignant in today's world.’
The Individuals and Societies team took 80 students on an overnight visit to Ypres in February to visit the trenches, cemeteries and to lay a wreath on behalf of the academy at a ceremony at the Menin Gate. It was an inspirational trip for the students and huge thanks goes to the team and accompanying staff for making it possible.
Erin in Year 9, has written about some of her experiences:
‘On the second day of our adventures we were driven across the Belgium/France border on our way to the Somme. Our visit to the Somme led us down the path the initial 120,000 Allied soldiers took when launching the attack on the Somme. On our way we saw remnants of the attack such as British barbed wire. Following our journey around the Somme we visited the third country on our itinerary - Canada! Some groups were able to venture up the memorial to the Newfoundland regiment adorned by a sculpture of a moose. To conclude our two day tour of Belgium and France we visited the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing in which we took a moment to reflect.
‘We will thank you, cheer you, kiss you,
When you come back again’
(‘Your King and Country Want You’ Paul Rubens, 1914)
The Halley Academy
Cultural Capital Day
The whole school bubbled with excitement in anticipation of The Halley Academy's second Cultural Capital Day when every student was given the opportunity to experience learning outside the classroom. Building on our vision for learners to be equipped to take their place in wider society, many students travelled by public transport and learned how to navigate the world-famous transport system before immersing themselves in historic centres of culture, such as the Natural History Museum and Design Museum. The range of trips also enabled students to explore future careers in sports, finance and theatre, including tours of Chelsea FC, Harry Potter Studios and performances of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, ‘Wicked’ and ‘Dr Jeykl and Mr Hyde’ in the West End. We want to thank all the staff for their hard work and support in making this day such a rewarding experience for our students.
Humanutopia
Since the start of the academic year, a number of students in Year 10 have been involved with Humanutopia. Humanutopia runs motivational and empowering courses that encourage young people to begin to care for their peers and the community.
During module 2, these became our Halley Heroes that started a mentoring team with students from younger year groups. The Heroes sacrificed a break time once a week to work alongside younger students, talking through their fears and encouraging them to start thinking about their dreams and aspirations for the future. Both the Heroes and their mentees worked together and created incredible bonds which, despite this initial programme being over, are still in touch all these weeks later.
The Heroes are now working on a community project. They have divided themselves up into smaller groups and are figuring out ways that they can fundraise for the local community, helping to build and develop a partnership between The Halley and the people in our local area. One team is working tirelessly to fundraise for a local homeless shelter, considering different projects that could take place around the school to help support this charity.
These students started to become Halley Heroes over a year ago and are still just as enthusiastic about working for our school community and the wider community as they were then.
Blood Brothers Trip
In February, a group of Year 9 English students, alongside the Year 11 GCSE Drama students participated in a trip to Richmond Theatre to see the performance ‘Blood Brothers’. Both year groups study this as part of their MYP and GCSE curriculum and were excited to see the play they had been reading transformed to life on the stage. All students are to be commended on their behaviour throughout the trip, with members of the public commenting on how well they engaged and how respectful of the performance itself they were, as well as to other members of the public in the theatre. Overall, students had a fantastic time, with one commenting that 'it was amazing - I loved the narrator and all the songs,' whilst another said, 'the theatre was beautiful! Please can we come back again?'. The Halley Academy looks forward to taking more students to watch this performance in the future and providing them with this enriching experience.
UKMT Intermediate Challenge Results 2023
The UKMT Intermediate Challenge, one of the most prominent maths competitions, was attended by selected students from Years 9 and 10. We were delighted to celebrate that a record number of our students achieved awards for the challenge, including:
Name Year group Certificate
Aymric Year 9 Bronze - Best in Year
Prince Year 9 Bronze
Name Year group Certificate
Tanzim Year 10 Silver - Best in Year
Daniel Year 10 Silver
Alisa Year 10 Bronze
Folawe Year 10 Bronze
Arthur Year 10 Bronze
Mateen Year 10 Bronze
Ahalaban Year 10 Bronze
Teagon - Rose Year 10 Bronze
Isabel Year 10 Bronze
Sara Year 10 Bronze
Emmanuel Year 10 Bronze
Aarons Year 10 Bronze
Rhema Year 10 Bronze
Strood Academy
Trip to The Globe Theatre
The English department took a group of Year 8 students to the Globe Theatre on the 10th of March. Students enjoyed having lunch at The Tate Modern before enjoying an excellent performance of Shakespeare’s, ‘The Tempest.’ The trip was very successful and equally rewarding. Year 9 students will also be visiting the Globe Theatre before the end of term.
The Business Enterprise department launched the Young Enterprise Club open to students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10. The club aims to introduce students to the practical and theoretical side of business studies, where students are given the opportunity and supported in the setting up of small school based businesses. Students have been busy brainstorming ideas and coming up with ideas to generate capital. Year 7 students led the way with the Valentines Raffle which was a huge success. The money raised will be reinvested into further business ventures throughout the year. We have seen some fantastic business proposals coming through to include a stationery store, a candle business and a business selling handmade bracelets…watch this space!
MYP Criterion B+C Assessment
We really enjoyed carrying out the rates of reaction investigation using magnesium ribbon with different concentrations of hydrochloric acid. We found out that as the concentration of acid increases, the time it took for the magnesium to disappear decreases.
The MFL department secured a visit from Paul Hughes, a motivational speaker, for our Year 9 students and they participated in an assembly aimed at promoting languages in the school.
As part of our MYP approaches to learning, Year 9 Spanish used their creative skills and designed comic strip posters about our school.
Lit in Colour
This term the English department welcomed a delivery of books from Pearson’s Lit in Colour. This programme is designed to raise cultural capital and the school is delighted to be working in partnership with Lit in Colour. The books are already available in the library and are proving to be very popular.
Art and Wellbeing Club
As usual, our pupils have been crafting and creating to their heart’s content. Our recent feats have included clay decorated jars where pupils have sculpted clay adornments to create miniature fantasy houses. They have also participated in a macrame bookmark workshop, as well as learning basic knitting skills. Their aptitude for learning and sharing new skills has been fantastic! Over the next few weeks they will be moving onto celebrating Easter with themed arts and crafts.
We have created a fantastic resource for GCSE photography where students and parents can find information on the course, access support and resources, and links to relevant outside organisations to assist with their coursework. There is aso information about photography club which is open to all years!
Here are some examples of some wonderful photographs taken by a Year 8 in Mr Andrews’ photography club:
Ivy House Award/Future Leaders Programme
Some of our Year 13 students have been taking part in the world renowned Ivy House Award/Future Leaders leadership programme over the past 8 weeks.This award is usually only offered within corporate organisations but Strood Academy have been fortunate enough to be the first school in Medway to offer this award and secure its funding for the next two years courtesy of NatWest Bank. The programme is an excellent personal development programme that is recognised within the world of work and universities alike. Students are able to access workplace masterclasses and participate in weekly sessions that allow them to become courageous learners both in and out of the classroom.
Careers at Strood Academy
This term, students have been working on a platform called ‘Unifrog.’ This is a website which allows each student to have a profile which helps them to make positive steps towards understanding their future plans. It allows them to ‘save’ careers which interest them, search training schemes and universities which offer related courses and also attend virtual meetings on specific areas of interest.
On Tuesday 17th January, Strood Academy held their annual careers' fair. This event provided students with the opportunity to speak to employers and further/higher education establishments. Students did themselves and The Academy proud with their maturity when it came to asking questions to our visitors which will help them in taking charge of their futures.
Year 11 students this term have had the opportunity to have mock interviews with our enterprise partner Jack to prepare them for life after key stage 4. Many students will be faced with interviews for jobs, apprenticeships, college places or sixth form places and therefore it is really important that students have a chance to understand and prepare for this process. Students were incredibly happy with this opportunity and found the exercise incredibly useful.
The Hundred of Hoo Academy
Medway Sports Awards 2022
We were able to start Term 3 with a celebration of the progress and work of one of our departments. In December, our PE department attended the Medway Sports Awards at the Corn Exchange. We are so proud to say that The Hundred of Hoo PE department won the Secondary School of the Year award! This award recognised secondary schools with clear evidence of the value of adopting a strong PE and school sport culture, highlighting the positive impact sport has had on the whole school. Congratulations to our amazing and hardworking PE Department. A fantastic evening was had by all, and Mrs Mortley even got to hold the wheelchair Rugby League World Cup!
Super South England Basketball
We are pleased Caleb has made it to the last 15 players for Super South England Basketball U13! To get to this point he has successfully progressed through multiple rounds of cuts, moving from South East into Super South. There is one more cut in June to create the Super South team of 12 players to compete in an All Star game. The All Star Game in July sees the top 48 players in the country come together.
Long Jump Champion
Kieran, one of our Sixth Form students, is an Under 20's Kent Triple Jump Champion. He has hit a new personal best and a club record! Kieran jumped 11.82m. We’re really proud of the hard work and determination that Kieran continues to demonstrate.
Parent Workshops
During Terms 3 and 4 we have been able to run a variety of workshops for our parents, with a focus especially on our disadvantaged families. Parents have been invited in to take part in Creative, a science experiment show, where in partnership with their children they were able to use microscopes and look at the layers of onions. In addition, parents have been invited to several digital workshops, which taught parents how to use Google Classroom, MCAS and Google Forms, helping to equip them with the skills to be able to support their children in using their chrome books for their home learning. Our most recent workshop was our Easter egg decoration session, where parents used their creativity to decorate eggs in preparation for the Easter season. Not only have parents shown their creativity, but they have had fun getting back into the classroom!
Awards Assemblies and results collection
We have been delighted to welcome parents in to celebrate the progress and achievement of pupils over Terms 3 and 4. Parents were invited in over the course of the last week of term to watch their children be presented with awards from their college leaders, form tutors and subject teachers, recognising their demonstration of the IB Learner Profile in lessons and around the academy. Not only is this an opportunity for us to share how we recognise and reward positive behaviour, but parents are also able to see how our ‘Theme of the Fortnight’ is addressed in assembly.
Performing Arts
Terms 3 and 4 saw some amazing performances from our pupils starting in January when The Hundred of Hoo Academy hosted the third annual Hoo’s Got Talent competition, where students in the final round of the event performed their chosen talent for an invited audience and a panel of special judges. Judges (Year 10 student Lily, Miss Parkinson and Mr Hassett) scored our talented students on three aspects of their performances;
Discipline: How the performer has used their understanding of their chosen artform and applied technical skill to their performance.
Artistry: How the performer adapted their use of technical skill to perform creatively.
Overall Performance: How enjoyable the performance was.
Although every performer was incredible, there had to be a winner and we were pleased to announce that Gracie (Yr10) was the overall winner with a captivating monologue performance of an extract from ‘Midnight Mass.’
This was followed in March, where we saw the incredible performances of the 2023 Hundred of Hoo Academy cast of Rock of Ages. From Wednesday 8 March to Friday 10 March, we welcomed the local community through our doors for this year's academy musical.
Organised by the performing arts department, this was a display of our students' hard work and talent and we are overjoyed to welcome back our local community and celebrate the strides that all of our learners have made. From Monday 6 March, all 40 students in the cast and crew were involved in a demanding rehearsal schedule where they had to be balanced and resilient to stay calm and collected. The show ran for three nights, the students final show being on Friday 10 March and we were all thrilled to see the turnout of governors, parents and supportive staff and peers. Audiences were wowed by our young cast and were left mesmerised by a "wonderful and magical evening". We were all shocked by the reaction of audience members who returned more than once, commenting that “the show was amazing. The performance from the cast was brilliant night by night.”
Cultural Capital
The academy strives to offer a wide range of co-curricular opportunities for pupils both inside and outside the academy to support pupils' cultural development. We are delighted to share the activities that pupils have been engaging in since the start of the year.
The Poetry Live trip was a massive success. We watched some famous poets that we study at GCSE discuss their experiences and intentions behind their poems. Our Year 11s were able to make notes to further support their understanding of the poems.
Year 13 social sciences students went to Maidstone Crown Court as part of their criminology and sociology courses. Following an introduction from a court usher, and some time becoming familiar with the courtroom, they met with His Honour Judge Saxby KC who talked about some of the high profile cases he defended and prosecuted for as a barrister, before becoming a judge. Students then had 2 hours in courtrooms of their choice to observe current cases as they unfolded. Covering a variety of crimes, students witnessed a selection of different events, including: a sentencing, a witness being examined by a defence barrister, and a judge summarising a case before the jury retired to deliberate their verdict.
The performing arts department led a trip to see the musical ‘Newsies’ at London’s Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre. This musical is a perfect example of the amazing way that dance can take centre stage and our students were able to watch a talented cast perform this immersive show. Actors were in and about the audience for the same amount of time as they were on stage and it demonstrated that storytelling can come in a variety of ways. Most of the learners on this trip have been using ‘Newsies’ as a case study for their BTEC coursework and were delighted to see all the techniques they have been working on in the classroom come to life on the big stage. It is sure to have lit a fire of passion in them, as they have now seen how central dance was to the performance and how it was used to both be entertaining but also informative. It mirrored some elements of our current society that the students were eager to talk about, growing their knowledge and understanding about people in similar situations. Mostly, however, they were too busy talking about the performer who flew over their heads on the zip wire before tap dancing for a full 4 minutes!
Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School
Rugby Kent 7s
On Wednesday 1st March, the girls’ 1st XII rugby team travelled to Dartford Grammar School for Boys to participate in the Kent 7s tournament. The girls were focused and driven from the start and it showed in their performance with some brilliant passing, rapid runs and hard-hitting tackles. The girls faced the team from Dartford Grammar in the final and came away with a convincing 19 -10 win. During the tournament the girls racked up an incredible 105 points and only conceded 10 points during the whole competition. Congratulations to all the girls who participated in the Kent 7s tournament on their fantastic achievement.
Earlier this year 5,000 students submitted essays to the New College of Humanities for the history and politics categories of their annual essay writing competition. The question was:
What would have to change about ‘democracy’ in order to restore faith in democracy among young people?
Congratulations to Kofi who came runner up and received a £250 prize. Kofi's essay can be found here.
Congratulations to Michael Fankah, previous School Captain 2021 on being selected to play in the Varsity match against Cambridge at Twickenham which took place on the 25th of March.
On Wednesday 22nd March 2023, the students of The Math School performed in their spring concert. There were students from all year groups performing as soloists, duets and ensembles, many of them for the very first time. We were treated to a wide variety of genres ranging from Chopin and Mozart, to The Beatles, The Stones, Van Halen and Slipknot! A diverse range of instruments included classical violin and piano solos, a brass group, clarinet and saxophone ensembles and several rock bands from Years 8, 10 and the Sixth Form. Some of the highlights of the evening were Alex (Year 8), who entertained us with the song On and On by Cartoon; Charlotte (Year 12) and Adam’s (Year 13) beautiful rendition of Phantom of the Opera (who knew ‘that’ high E was actually possible); Ethan SC’s (Year 10) out of this world drum solo of Slipknot’s Unsainted, complete with a timed light show; Ethan G’s (Year 7) perfect version of Mozart’s Turkish March and a wonderfully enthusiastic Pompeii by the KS3 Choir. It was an extremely enjoyable evening leaving the audience members exhilarated and extremely proud of their children.
A very successful House cooking competition took place on Thursday 23rd March with the students making an array of tasty dishes. Congratulations to Luca and Akshay in 8Br: 'We’re pleased to have won the Junior House cooking competition. For the starter, we made dough balls with garlic butter as well as fish cutlets. We made a medium rare steak with salt and pepper fries with some salad too. For the desert, we made oreo sponge brownies. Our winning dishes tasted amazing and all the judges approved. It was a great experience and really fun!'
On Tuesday 24th January, Year 13 economics students had the privilege of visiting Simpsons Wine Estate in Canterbury to gain an insight into the wine industry and how their business works. Students were given an introduction into the background of their winery and the story behind Ruth and Charles Simpson, who established the estate in 2012. This was followed by a tour of the vineyard including the main base of operations with state of the art machinery and apparatus that are used to process the grapes, and finally a presentation on the economic outlook of the wine industry. Students found this an enjoyable and engaging experience gaining valuable knowledge relevant to their studies.
On Wednesday 1st March historian Marc Morris visited the history department to deliver a lecture on the reign of Edward I. Marc Morris is a leading authority on Edward's reign, which forms a key part of the GCSE curriculum. Year 11 students benefited from Marc's enormous knowledge, asking a range of interesting questions that really brought out some new insights - this included a demonstration from Jasir Ahmad of how the Prince of Wales would be expected to actually pay homage to Edward I, had he actually showed up to the ceremony in 1274! Marc Morris will certainly be invited back next year to benefit the current Year 10s!
Congratulations to four of our Year 13 students who took part in the UK Chemistry Olympiad. This is designed to challenge the very best Year 13 Chemists. Aaron Shoker, Kerim Yilmaz, Hadi Abbas, Kieran Pogoue all gained excellent outcomes placing them very high in the national context.
Leigh Academy Rainham
We have had another fantastic term with special events taking place in the academy to celebrate our students and ‘Themes of the Fortnight’.
Proud Fridays
Every other Friday, students are invited to celebrate things they are proud of at lunchtime with the senior leadership team. We have set up a designated ‘Proud Friday’ area in the dining hall where the Principal, Miss Millward, and other senior leaders meet with students who share personal achievements that have made them proud. This has included sporting events that students have taken part in outside of school, pieces of work they have completed where they feel they have made exceptional progress, and entries they have made to college competitions. Each child receives a handwritten postcard from the senior leader to celebrate why they are proud of themselves, they have their photos taken, they are given reward points for taking pride in themselves and their names go into a draw for book vending machine rewards.
Science Weeks
To celebrate national STEM week we had a fortnight of amazing science events taking place in the academy. The whole science team led on year group assemblies which were shows called “How we connect to the world?” and focused on the power of our senses and how these work. Senior leaders were given ‘I’m a Celebrity’ style challenges linked to their senses. Miss Millward was blindfolded and had to use her sense of touch to work out what was placed in front of her; both Miss Millward and Mr Sandland were given jelly beans with vile flavours and the Heads of College had to build towers out of pipe cleaners blindfolded! The assemblies were great fun and the students really engaged with them!
In addition, the science team led on a series of science experiments over the week that students could go and watch at lunchtimes. These included a heart dissection, bottle rockets, cornflour bombs, water into wine and elephants’ toothpaste. Students thoroughly enjoyed all these additional activities and the science themed form time activities. We are very thankful to our fantastic team for planning this two week event!
Turner Contemporary Trip
Students had the opportunity to visit the Turner Contemporary, one of the UK’s leading contemporary art galleries. This was a fantastic learning experience for students, as it challenged them to think deeply about debatable questions such as ‘What is art?’ and ‘Can sound be art?’ The main exhibition the students experienced was a vibrant film and sound installation created by Sonia Boyce. The installation combined video, collage, music and sculpture to present a body of work that centred around the vocal experimentation of five Black female musicians. Students took part in a practical workshop inspired by this exhibition, creating musical instruments and designing album covers. The exhibition was perfectly fitting for our MYP curriculum by making interdisciplinary links between the arts subjects: visual and performing.
Other artwork on show in the gallery included work by local artists based in Margate, inspired by their coastal environment. They also viewed Sir Antony Gormley’s cast-iron sculpture ‘Another Time’, the solitary figure visible in the sea before low tide. Students enjoyed their day of creative learning outside of the classroom.
Medway Light Nights Festival
It was fantastic to have a group of Year 7 students participate in the Medway Light Night’s festival, wonderfully representing our school in our community and promoting enjoyment of the arts in our culture. Students worked with professional artists in school during a workshop to create lanterns which they then carried as they joined the opening parade for the festival. The workshop gave students, opportunity to stretch and challenge their skills by creating on a larger scale in three-dimensions, using materials that we would not be able to use in lesson time such as willow.
We greatly thank all families who supported the event by bringing their children and joining them on the festival evening.
Pride Month
Diversity club continues to be very popular with our students. Twice a week at lunchtimes students have the chance to get together in a safe space and talk about current diversity issues. February was LGBTQ+ History Month which we celebrated in various ways. Students engaged in activities in the dining hall together and there was a competition to create a piece of art/work celebrating the achievements of those from the LGBTQ+ community. Our big celebration was a film screening, celebrating the work of Byron Howard. He is gay director responsible for films including Zootopia, Tangled and Encanto. We all had a great afternoon together with everyone sharing snacks they had brought along. Students who attend diversity club have also helped promote diversity in our school community by giving their time to update our board, telling everyone about feminism and what it means to us. A huge thank you to all staff and students involved!
Restoration Club
This module restoration club has been busy finishing abstract art chairs inspired by the work of Yinka Ilori. Students have spent the last 2 weeks ensuring a professional finish with varnish. Next we will be reupholstering the cushions. We cannot wait to be able to show them to parents at open evenings and parents evenings.
Next module we will be moving on to support the performing arts department in creating props for the stage in their upcoming performance.
The Arts Interdisciplinary Unit
This term’s Year 8 art unit has been interdisciplinary alongside performing arts and English, working on the theme of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream. Students have been working as set designers, making component parts of a model box to create a missing scene. This unit challenged the students’ creativity and imagination further as they were invited to create in their own style, producing more divergent outcomes. They created in both 2-dimensions (backdrop design) and in 3-dimensions (modelling set elements, such as the trees for the woodland setting). Students have been encouraged to be open minded and take risks when exploring media, welcoming unpredictable results, such as colour separation in ink wash. It has been wonderful to see students experimenting and discovering new ways to create.
LAR Digital Curriculum
Module 4 provided LAR with the opportunity to celebrate all things digital with a successful Digital Curriculum visit by the LAT Head of Digital Engagement.
Some of our digital highlights so far this academic year:
100% of students have a device at all times enabling a fully immersive digital curriculum.
Every class has a digital google classroom and lesson resources are uploaded so that students can access all lesson materials online both within lessons and from home.
Chromebooks are used where appropriate to enhance the learning experience
Lessons are designed so that online software is utilised to allow the modification of tasks and enable students to be exported beyond the classroom.
Teachers design their curriculum to use digital skills creatively and innovatively and with particular focus on how they can internationalise the curriculum.
We have recently introduced the Read&Write literacy support toolbar as a differentiation tool to enable all students to access the learning.
Being Safe Online: For students in Year 7, staying safe online means being aware of the digital challenges we face including the 4Cs of Online Safety.
Introduction to Coding: Students in Year 7 have experienced storytelling through digital animation and the use of creativity and invention.
If the Shoe fits: Year 7 students have undertaken collaborations between different footwear brands and how they can create new and interesting aesthetics for footwear designers.
Festival Interdisciplinary Unit: Through creativity and iInnovation, Year 8 students have experienced ancient cultures and how these can influence modern brand identity. This included the use of CAD to design logos, a brand identity and a website.
Architectural design using Sketchup: Students in Year 8 completed an architectural design task using multi-functional builds to improve sustainability. For example, the design of a new 6th Form block at LAR.
Python Coding: Students in Year 8 practised coding game functions using Logic.
3D Printer Software: Students created fragrances for the King’s Coronation.
This module has also provided students in Year 7 with the opportunity to work through the Google Workspace Skills. We have established a small pilot group who have been introduced to a series of interactive tutorials which provide them with feedback on how successful and efficient they have been. Students have then been coached through the most effective strategies, enabling them to improve further. These skills have enabled students to work towards a digital skills passport collecting bronze, silver and gold medals as they go.
Keeping students safe online is an obvious priority for us at LAR. This module has seen the introduction of the Smoothwall Monitoring Platform. This is a proactive digital monitoring service which alerts members of the academy’s leadership team to any potential online safety issues whilst students use their Chromebook in lessons or at home. This has been extremely powerful in raising awareness of online safety and to enable us to support parents to navigate the online world at home with their children.