Milestone has had some huge successes this year, not least the fact that one of our students won the 200m boys race at the LAT secondary sports day - a  first in Milestone's history and to be celebrated!

Our own sports days were great fun with families attending and participating, enjoying seeing their children taking part in a range of different and rich activities.

Further celebrations include our continued development of collaboration with our mainstream colleagues. Our joint working with The Leigh Academy has enabled more students than ever to access mainstream GCSE classes and we are excited about the future outcomes for these pupils. In turn our partnership has enabled mainstream students to access our satellite. 

Our key objective is to ensure our pupils leave us with as many skills so that they have the ability to live an independent and fulfilled life. This year our leavers go on to a range of colleges, employment and settings. All have a next place to go to and all are excited about the next steps in their journey.

We have further engaged with parents this year with over 70 parents and carers attending our Coronation street party and the same again expected at our end of term celebration event.

We celebrate our approved candidacy as an IB school, forging ahead as world leaders on the SEN and IB stage. It has been a great year! Roll on September when we will continue on our exciting journey.

Mental Health Awareness Week

Mental Health is always a big focus at Snowfields but in May we put additional focus on this during Mental Health Awareness week. During this time we had a range of activities and events to create opportunities for discussion around mental health. Displays were up in both libraries and students looked at resources during wellbeing time each day. Students designed postcards which were professionally printed and then used to write uplifting messages to each other. The Snowfields Squad were involved and voted to host  nature walks at Cranbrook and Bearsted. They chose to show videos of footballers dealing with mental health issues. For our Year 11s, messages written by staff were stuck up around Bearsted to support students in mentally preparing for their exams. Staff and students wore green one day to fundraise for the Mental Health Foundation and students were able to purchase green ribbons throughout the week.  Our wellbeing dogs, Willow, Otis and Max now have an email address that students can use if they wish to book time with them.

Co-curricular opportunities

Our students have thrived in their cocurricular activities this year. They have enjoyed a variety of activities which have added stretch and challenge to their days as well as a little “safe” risk to their learning. This year the activities have included mountain bikes in the woods, horse riding, forest school, climbing, and swimming. It has been fantastic to enable these activities to take place but even better to visibly see and hear how the students engage and grow in confidence during these sessions. 

The members of the public we came across in the woods when on bikes, the lifeguards at the pools, staff at the climbing centre, and the volunteers supporting horse riding, all commented upon how polite and well mannered with their communication and interactions our students were, and what an asset they are to Snowfields. These sessions really do highlight our core values!

Year 11 exams

And finally, a huge round of applause for our first Year 11 students at Snowfields! This module was all about preparing for exams, and boy, did they take it seriously. Their commitment, hard work, and revision sessions were truly commendable. They tackled practice papers, revised diligently, and faced each exam with unwavering focus. Snowfields Academy is bursting with pride for our Year 11 students, and we know that all their dedication will pay off!

As summer approaches, we wish each and every one of you a safe and enjoyable break. Take time to relax, have fun, and recharge those mathematical batteries. We can't wait to see you back next academic year!

Have a wonderful summer!