Secondary
Academies
The Leigh Academy
Remembrance Service
We held a Remembrance Service at The Leigh Academy on Friday 11th November 2022.
This annual event sees every staff member and student stand for a service, in which we reflect on those who have given their lives and sacrificed much for the freedoms and privileges we currently enjoy in the UK today. We listened to the music Nimrod by Edward Elgar, heard readings about servicemen and women across the world who fought for democracy and freedom. We also read the poem Flanders fields by John McCrae.
Students from The Leigh Academy, the Milestone @ The Leigh satellite and our local Dartford Primary Academy pupils, laid wreaths and planted ceramic poppies, previously part of an art installation at The Tower of London in 2014 to mark the centenary of World War 1. We then held a 2 minutes silence and heard the playing of The Last Post. Every single member of our Leigh community showed respect and maturity in marking this occasion, showing recognition of those who have given their service to us.
We were privileged to have with us Harry Chapman, who was conscripted in World War Two and is now chairman of the Local Royal British Legion, Chris Ridgewell, Branch community support lead, who served in the Falklands and Karl Smith, a veteran who served in the British Army with the Royal Corps of signals in the 1990s. and is a parent of a Post 16 student at The Leigh Academy. They joined our service and read The Exhortation. Our guests then joined with some students to enjoy refreshments and answer questions, and kindly shared tales of their experiences.
Thank you to our guests from The Royal British Legion, to all of our community who participated in this touching and poignant event and to all who made a donation to The Poppy Appeal.
Diwali @ The Leigh Academy
We were honoured to welcome two leaders from the local Sikh temple to play for us one morning to mark Diwali. It was a calming yet thought provoking way to start the academy day; students were keen to listen to the music and ask questions about Diwali and Sikh celebrations in general. It was an opportunity that provoked reflection on our intercultural understanding of all within our Leigh community.
Democracy @ The Leigh Academy
Student Voice reps:
We have relaunched our Student Voice scheme this year. Students in all year groups have been asked to nominate themselves or a peer as Student Voice Representatives for their tutor group. Students have then held hustings and voted by secret ballot. Each form group now has a Student Voice Rep. These reps meet regularly within their college teams and are already coming forward with fundraising ideas as well as developing environmentally friendly projects.
Dartford Youth Council Elections:
This year we ensured that more of our young people had the chance to vote for their Dartford Youth Council Elections, by having a voting station with a secret ballot box available at reception. Students were encouraged to read about the local nominees, their manifestos and ideas to improve the local area.
Member of Parliament Gareth Johnson visits The Leigh Academy:
We were pleased to host our Dartford Member of Parliament on Friday 18th November 2022. Gareth joined with our IB Global Politics students and a selection of our student voice representatives who were keen to ask him a range of questions from climate change to cost of living crisis and education fundings for the future. Our Leigh students really enjoyed the session, we hope Gareth didn’t mind the grilling!
Longfield Academy
Christmas Events
In the run up to the festive season, the Longfield Academy community has also come together for charitable purposes. This module, as have supported a local charity, The Community Cupboard in West Kingsdown. Staff and students, led by Mrs Mulholland in the Spectrum Centre, collected tins and toiletries in order to donate to the organisation. We have also been raising money for Save the Children with the annual Christmas Jumper Day event. Staff and students donned their best festive jumpers and donated money for the charity, which is an international charity which supports children around the world.
Community Book Pledge
Usborne’s Community Book Pledge is a nationwide initiative to help schools and nurseries across the UK and Europe benefit from more books, boosting literacy levels through encouraging reading for pleasure.
If you are able to support this initiative, which will help raise the literacy standards of our community’s next business generation, you can make a donation by contributing to the Collection pot here.
Blood Brothers Trip
Year 10 GCSE Drama students were treated to an evening watching their set text, Blood Brothers at the Orchard Theatre on Thursday 10th November. For many students, this was their first experience of live theatre, and they loved it! The touring cast of the production were phenomenal, and lots of discussions about the characters and actors took place the following day in lessons with Miss Clements. A thoroughly enjoyable performance for all.
Year 13 trip to the British Film Industry
Year 13 Film Studies students travelled to London on Friday 18th November to take part in a workshop on the role of the Auteur in filmmaking, and in particular Hitchcock's role in the creation of Vertigo. Vertigo is one of their set films, and the day was a great focus before PPE exams begin. The BFI is a fantastic cinema; comfortable seats and a fantastic screen added to an enjoyable day.
Remembrance Day
On Friday 11th November the entire Longfield Academy community came together to mark Remembrance Day. The students are always very respectful during this event.
Back to the Future Trip
On Thursday 6th October 40 lucky year 9 students had the opportunity to visit the Adelphi Theatre in London to watch Back to the Future. The show was amazing and was thoroughly enjoyed by all students. It is a definite MUST SEE show!
We were fortunate enough that the trip was funded by the Trust co-curricular grant.
Longfield Art Trip to London
On 24th November, the Post-16 art and photography students went to visit the V&A Museum in South Kensington to look at the wide range of exhibits and gain inspiration for their current projects. The V&A houses a fascinating mixture of art, photography, jewellery, sculptures and cultural objects. The students really enjoyed the experience and had these things to say:
'I really enjoyed our day trip out to the V&A. Now that I know where it is, I will be returning many times to really see everything I missed out on. It was so interesting to see all of the different forms of art that are created throughout the different countries!'
'The trip to the V&A was very inspirational. It helped me get ideas on what I could do in future photography as I was able to see photos in the museum. This trip has helped open my eyes on other ways to portray an art style.'
'Our school trip to the V&A was eye opening seeing all the art pieces and photography pieces up close and in person! This will help me improve my photography skills!'
Wilmington Academy
Working with Businesses
Over the past 18-months the academy has been working hard to forge links with businesses in order to further enhance our personal development provision. It is our firm belief that by providing students with these opportunities to interact with local, national and international businesses, students are more confident in making informed decisions about their future choices. Below is a summary of the opportunities offered since we returned in September:
Willmott Dixon talk to our Year 9 and Year 12 students:
In October, both our Year 9 and Year 12 students were given the opportunity to learn more in depth about Willmott Dixon as well as the apprenticeship and employment opportunities they offer. Our guest speakers, Tony Locke (Customer Services Manager) and Michael Oppong (Apprentice Surveyor) gave an overview of their job roles and helped students to understand that there are a multitude of roles within a business such as Willmott Dixon.
Students learnt about how the construction industry also offered roles such as architect, interior design, refurbishment, project management, and finance to name a few. Students were then given the opportunity to ask Tony and Michael questions and some of our Year 12 students have even managed to secure work experience placements in the summer as a result of this opportunity!
Post-16 Engineering students visit Willmott Dixon:
Our links with Willmott Dixon also saw our Post-16 engineering and design technology students benefit from the opportunity to gain direct experience of a workplace by visiting their site in Woolwich, a £50m re-cladding project. During the visit, the project manager gave an overview of the project timeline and the impact it has with the local community. Students also benefited from an on-site tour which allowed them to immerse themselves in the day-to-day running of the site.
The whole experience was a fantastic opportunity for students to gain more knowledge about Willmott Dixon, a national employer, and all the business operations behind it. The project manager also spoke about his position within the company, from where he started as an apprentice and provided inspiration for students to look forward to in the future.
'I learnt that the construction industry involves far more than what I realised. I was inspired by the opportunity and will definitely look more into the opportunities this industry could offer me.'
- Ryan, Year 12
Business Breakfast:
November saw us host our first business breakfast of the new academic year. We hosted 16 businesses from a variety of different industries including: Kent Police Constabulary, NHS Darent Valley, Allied Health Professional, BAE Systems, Kreston Reeves LLP, and the London Stock Exchange to name but a few.
Businesses were given the opportunity to network with each other, students, and academy staff and learn more about the T Level qualifications from the Education and Training Foundation launching in Post-16 for September 2023. The event was supported by our Chair of Governors, Darrel Lineham-Dumont and Steve Pepperrell, our link governor for Teaching & Learning, as well as Avtar Sandhu MBE, Conservative Member for Brent Ward and Lead Member for Business and Enterprise.
It was fantastic to see our Post 16 students seize the opportunity to interact with so many potential employers, hearing first hand about their own journeys, gaining industry insight and forging future links including potential future work experience.
'It was really good to speak to people who work within the industries that I am potentially considering for my future career. I am interested in a career in either Law or Psychology, so to have the opportunity to speak to Kent Police and the NHS was really beneficial.'
- Emmye, Year 12
'It was a pleasure to welcome a variety of businesses and forge potential links between the academy, our students and businesses. It was fantastic to see delegates share their own experiences with our students as it gave them an insight into the different routes they can choose after Post-16.'
- K Man, Business Engagement Lead
The Leigh UTC
Business Breakfast
Our well-established Business Breakfast was held on 16th October. This regularly-calendared event is a great way of working onsite with our business partners, and interested companies. The opportunity allows us to share the amazing things that are happening at the academy, particularly at Post-16, and share mutual aspirations for the young people in our community.
As a pioneering academy of the new T Level, we used our most recent Business Breakfast to share the recent changes in education, with particular focus on the requirements for work placements, and how businesses can support the academy and our students’ holistic development as they complete the programme.
Our Director of Learning for Engineering, Richard Nash, was invited to present the expectations of the Industry Placement, a 315 hour work experience that is spread over 12-18 months. The networking conversation that followed allowed businesses to share their ideas and challenges, allowing for collaborative conversation about how we can ensure that this part of the programme is highly successful for all stakeholders.
Gabriel Alamu, Head of College, shared the Leigh UTC’s strategy for ensuring that all students are “Work Ready” by the time they leave us, by teaching and expecting our young people to develop Professional Habits from Year 7 onwards.
The Breakfast also contained presentations from students about their independent projects. Topics included Artificial Intelligence, designing and creating barbeques for a client, and students’ experiences with Coca Cola’s work experience programme. These highly professional presentations impressed our business partners and were a fantastic opportunity for our young people to make connections with representatives from the world of work.
Mia, one of our presenters said: 'The Business Breakfast opened many opportunities and gave me experience in presenting, I am grateful for the chance to take part. It was great to meet and speak with the representatives about their businesses and the school.'
Harry said: 'It provided a fantastic insight into the world of work. Being able to put myself forward to present my skills and ideas has put me a step in the right direction.'
Clive Barker, our Chair of Governors said: 'The Leigh UTC’s regular Business Breakfasts create a platform for both business and education to learn from each other and discover the benefits of a closer working relationship. These events highlight several areas of mutual understanding and emphasise that engagement of students with business increases their aspirations and creates opportunities for business to benefit from early identification of talented young recruits.'
Mascalls Academy
Now December has arrived and as we approach the end of the calendar year we naturally start to reflect. We arrived in this academic year determined to place covid lockdowns well and truly in the past, opening up more clubs and activities than ever before and rewarding our students more than ever for the incredible achievements and effort they make on a daily basis. This academic year alone we have handed out forty eight thousand rewards, golden tickets, ties and badges. Students continue to impress us with their energy, enthusiasm and resilience taking advantage of many of the things Mascalls has to offer. There is much to look forward to in this module, such as the dance show, the entertainment and catering for the local care home residents and our winter extravaganza to name just a few!
This module has been an immensely busy one, our jam packed co-curricular schedule with clubs and teams occurring at lunchtimes and after school. Currently there are over 40 clubs, teams and activities on offer to our students. The benefits of being involved in extra activities are well documented leading to:
Improved mental health and well being, decreased stress and anxiety;
Improved academic performance;
Improved social development and relationships with peers and adults;
Improved attitudes towards school, behaviour and future work;
Developed essential life skills;
Improved resilience and integrity (commitment to team outcomes);
Higher self-esteem;
Social and career opportunities.
This is just another way we support our students in becoming the very best version of themselves alongside the outstanding support we already provide pastorally, through Place2be, through the provision of uniform and equipment items and of course a Chromebook for every student to access resources and cutting edge technology. Starkly, numerous studies have shown the amount of time teens spend alone outside of school has markedly increased over a period of years and also over the pandemic for obvious reasons; some experience less family time corresponding with a decrease in mental health and well being. Our offer aims to counteract those findings for our wonderful community.
There are 746 students who regularly take part in our clubs, teams and activities at Mascalls representing 55% of our students. The benefits reported above are evidenced amongst this group with higher attendance rates and fewer reports of anxiety. We want that for all of our wonderful students and aim for 100% of our students attending at least one club or activity.
This year so far we have seen:
Our first ever girls’ football team match with kit sponsored by Paddock Wood Business Association;
Huge numbers of years 7 (A and B), 8, 9 and 10 boys’ and girls’ football and netball fixtures;
An art department ‘bus stop drawing thing’. This relationship has now developed a strong link with our local community and led to another community project;
Woodwork creation of a bench for East Peckham Community Park;
A number of high performance academy lectures open to all students who want to develop in a high performance culture;
Replay Applause project in drama - Replay is a 5 day performance workshop aimed at reducing school anxiety culminating in a public performance;
Paddock Wood Light Up - Three students from Year 10 and Year 12 represented Mascalls Academy beautifully at the Paddock Wood Light Up on Sunday 27th November. Despite the pouring rain, these students impressed the crowd with their singing and professionalism and it was great to see so many of their friends supporting them;
Engineering Club - represented the academy at Somerhill in the STEAM project;
Sunday rehearsals for the dance show and the performances themselves which saw 109 students involved performing in 5 shows over 4 days. Sold out twice!
Workshops
Football
Performing Arts
Ebbsfleet Academy
Ebbsfleet Academy Junior Community Event 2022
During the October Half Term, Ebbsfleet Academy hosted free fun workshops for local Year 5 & 6 students. We ran workshops that introduced students to cooking, dancing, orienteering, science, sport, arts & crafts, geography and archery. We were delighted to welcome 80 students during the week.
Click here to see what went on.
A Busy Visit to Barcelona
Ms Horn & Ms Samuels took 11 students to Barcelona during the October half term. The group visited a number of popular landmarks as well as practising their Spanish skills through shopping and indulging in local food & drink. The highlight of the visit was attending language lessons with some local teenagers. Many exchanged contact details and have become penpals.
Ebbsfleet Sports Leaders in Action at the Golf Foundation Festival
Ebbsfleet Academy Year 10 Sports Leaders spent a day at The London Golf Club supporting local primary school children to learn how to play golf. This event was part of the 70th Anniversary celebrations for the Golf Foundation.
EA6 Visit to UK University and Apprenticeship Fair
Our sixth form students visited the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to attend the UK University and Apprenticeship Fair. The students enjoyed talking to the universities directly about their courses.
The Ebbsfleet Academy Junior Archers Bring Medals Home
On Sunday 4th December, The Ebbsfleet Academy Junior Archers attended Archery GB’s Junior National Indoor Championships in Warwickshire. The team represented the school very well with their behaviour and their archery skills. They came back with 3 medals, a gold and 2 bronze!
Hayesbrook Academy
It has been a season of great change at Hayesbrook since September as the school begins its transition to becoming the co-ed Leigh Academy Tonbridge in September 2023. We were delighted to welcome over 700 families to our open events and taster sessions and have been overwhelmed with the positive feedback. In preparation for our first mixed cohort we have begun the renovation of our main teaching block which has transformed the environment for both our current and future students. Exciting plans are underway to fully refurbish the toilets and provide new, exclusive facilities for our girls and plans to significantly enhance the outdoor social spaces ready for September 2023.
Meanwhile, off the back of record GCSE results (a progress 8 score of +0.25!), the academy continues to provide incredible opportunities for our students both in and beyond the classroom.
GCSE and A Level Geography field trip October 2022
Our three day residential visit to Norfolk returned in full force between 19th-21st October 2022, with both GCSE and A level geographers getting to grips with primary data collection.
We used the Kingswood Centre at Overstrand in Norfolk which allows the students to develop their geographical understanding in an immersive environment. This year the students studied the River Glaven and how the characteristics of the river change downstream from source to mouth. The students developed their understanding of primary data collection and were able to practise this on day two by getting into the river in some very fetching waders! Despite awful weather conditions and every form of rainfall imaginable the group acquitted themselves admirably and were soon back in drier conditions at the field studies centre. The students then developed their IT skills by creating GIS maps and writing up their study.
This visit will hugely benefit the students as they look to develop their understanding of fieldwork for the GCSE exam and for the A Level students a useful pilot study as they develop their NEA.
Stay The Course
We are always keen to develop our Alumni links at Hayesbrook so it was with great excitement that we welcomed former student Tommy Mack to the academy to run his ‘Stay The Course’ workshop. It is so powerful for the students to hear from former students who ‘sat in their seat’ and this was absolutely the case. The workshop was delivered to all of Year 11 on Wednesday 30th November 2022 with a focus on values, dreams, boundaries, goals and wellbeing. The press up challenge linked to resilience and the ‘gunky’ £10 note around self worth and value were really impactful. Feedback from the event was highly positive from both Tommy and the students.
Remembrance Day
The entire school gathered in the central playground for Remembrance Day, where we observed 2 minutes of silence and were able to hear the cannons from Tonbridge Castle. Following this, our CCF unit carried out a march through the centre of the playground organised and led by Year 11 student Alex. It was incredibly powerful to see our whole school community coming together in this way.
Britannica Quiz
On 30th November our fantastic four took on the ultimate challenge of the first annual Britannica magazine quiz. They travelled to London to compete in the finals and they made us so proud, winning 2nd place out of the 80 schools who competed! They’ll be writing the magazines themselves in no time. Well done boys!
Tom Tugendhat Visit
In late November, we welcomed our local MP Tom Tugendhat to the academy to share our plans for Leigh Academy Tonbridge. He faced a thorough grilling from our students who quizzed him on the government’s plans to deal with the cost of living crisis and the UK’s energy security.
Stationers' Crown Woods Academy
Friday 18th November - Pinewood Studios Trip
The film and media department took a group of students (Years 10-13) to the legendary Pinewood studios. Pinewood Studios is most famous for shooting all of the James Bond films, however many other huge films have been filmed there including Star Wars and Jurassic World. When we arrived students were ‘greeted’ by an army of Stormtroopers; they then explored some exciting props from films and looked at industry standard film technology. Some were even brave enough to have a picture with Chewbacca! We then had the pleasure of listening to BAFTA and OSCAR winning SFX coordinator Chris Corbould, who talked about his fascinating career of creating some of the most iconic scenes from films such as Casino Royale, The Dark Knight and Inception. Finally students were greeted by a range of educational and industrial film specialists who guided them through different career routes in the industry; they met make-up artists, set-designers, cinematographers to name a few and picked up some goodies on the way.
Shakespeare Schools Festival: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
A group of students from across years 7-11 worked together to perform a stunning performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that they performed in front of a live audience at Greenwich Theatre.
Digital Day: Inspiring the next generation of digital talent
On the 9th of November as part of British Interactive Media Association’s (BIMA) Digital Day, Industry professionals were matched up with schools to show students how real world companies solve real world solutions.
This year’s challenge was all about the Royal Mail which faces some interesting decisions in the light of the communication and shopping revolution. The question is how to compete in the digital world and retain the iconic pillar box, face to face interaction, and on-street visibility of the postman.
Our students worked hard to provide a way forward, whether that was building on the rich past of Royal Mail, making the web experience a little smoother, building working prototypes of a digital app to ease the journey of the parcel or letter or a truly futuristic delivery system based on the RoboVac.
The group that were chosen as the SCWA entry to the BIMA Digital Day finals managed to successfully meet what sometimes seemed mutually exclusive aims. They kept the pillar box albeit with some new technological bells and whistles and they utilised the advantages of the digital by using the connectivity it grants to provide a varied and efficient service which gave us, the customer, the flexibility we require. Where it really scored was the retention of the face to face interaction through screen technology with the ability to talk to - wait for it - an actual human being with knowledge of the customer base.
Well done SCWA Digital Team!
This term the SCWA Media Crew have been hard at work reporting on big events and various projects within our local community, all for our new school magazine The Crown Woods Chronicle. The ‘Crew’, made up of students from years 7 to 10, have really jumped at the opportunity to become journalists, photographers and editors, and are working on something very special that we can’t wait to share with everyone. Our first issue will be released sometime in January/February 2023 so keep an eye out!
Leigh Academy Blackheath
With 900 students now on roll and just under 100 members of staff, LAB no longer feels like a small school and as a learning community we feel like we have reached a stage of maturity. Once again our Year 6 into 7 open evening was a huge success and this year we are celebrating 6 applications for every 2023 Year 7 place. LAB16, our sixth form provision, opens in September 2023 and we were delighted to host an information evening for both our founding students and new applicants in November.
Academy life has been vibrant and busy so far this year with an abundance of learning opportunities for all students. Here are just a few things that have happened at LAB since September:
Day of Languages
On the 26th of September, we celebrated the European Day of Languages. Students across all 3 colleges participated in a range of challenges from performing foreign tongue twisters and creating videos introducing themselves in 5 different languages, to following workout videos in French or Spanish online. In tutor time, students took part in a quiz, exploring a variety of interesting idioms from all over the world. 10D, 9C and 7C came out on top scoring 8/8.
BIMA Digital Day
BIMA Digital Day
Our Pupils were given the opportunity to participate in Digital Day, a nationwide initiative with the world of tech held by BIMA. BIMA Digital Day gives 11-16 year olds an insight into a world of digital careers. Students competed in a sponsored, nationwide digital challenge linked with brands to solve real life problems.
The day was awesome, full of ideas, creativity, thinking and problem-solving.
Read about what some of our students have had to say about the day.
'Employees showed us the career path that they took in order to get where they are which was very helpful in making my decisions on my own career and broadening my knowledge on careers, especially agencies. Overall, I quite enjoyed digital day seeing as I gained knowledge on how businesses and companies improve and expand as well as the role digital plays in it.'
- Velia - Year 10
'I really enjoyed the task they gave us because it helped develop my skills in meeting new people, communication, thinking and planning. I appreciated the chance that I got to experience working in the computer science industry for a day and felt that they did a great job of making the day fun, interesting and entertaining for everyone. At the end of the day I thought it was very nice that everyone shared their group solutions to see what we could have done or improved on.'
- Chloe - Year 9
'The overall BIMA experience was really enjoyable! During the event, I was able to meet a lot of new people who brought a number of amazing ideas to my project. The BIMA staff (Stephanie, Josh, and Victoria) were really nice and helpful. In addition, the tasks that we did challenged me in a number of different ways and helped me develop as a Digital Leader. For our task, my team chose to do the Primark challenge which was to try and help Primark be more sustainable and come up with ideas for it. In the end, we came up with the idea of reusing old clothes and having them personally designed for the user. To conclude, the day was very exciting and I was able to get a view of the computing industry and how it worked.''
- Pratik - Year 9
Performing Arts trips
On Thursday 10th November We took our Year 10 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. 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.
On Monday 5th December 2022 Trinity Laban’s 3rd year Musical Theatre course invited LAB students to watch a dress rehearsal of their upcoming show: Curtains at the spectacular LABAN Theatre in Deptford. As a music department we decided to select 20 Year 9 students who we felt displayed our values within music and who have shown great enthusiasm and passion in our lessons. Have a very peaceful festive season from all at LAB!
The Halley Academy
Three times a year at The Halley Academy, the normal student timetable is suspended for the day and we offer students an alternative array of exciting, enriching and rewarding experiences: enhancing the curriculum, building the cultural capital of students and further developing their interpersonal skills that will underscore their successful development to adulthood. These days are referred to as Cultural Capital Days and are proudly one of the highlights of our academy calendar.
The first Cultural Capital Day of this academic year was held in December, and saw close to 500 students enjoy an off-site visit. As part of their History, Science and Art curriculum, all students in Year 7 visited either the Tower of London, the Science Museum or Tate Modern.
In Years 8 and 9, students travelled across London and the South-East to some of the country's top visitor attractions. Over 60 students experienced their first ever West End musical, by seeing Wicked! - they were dazzled by the performances, special effects and musical accompaniment. Some students learnt about the history and development of Chelsea Football club by visiting Stamford Bridge, whilst others expanded their knowledge of conservation and biology with a visit to London Zoo. Many students got their first taste of bouldering and rock climbing at the Reach Centre in Woolwich, whilst other students travelled back in time with visits to Hampton Court Palace, the British Museum and the Tate Britain.
Our Year 10 students enjoyed a Careers Day, based at school, where they experienced workshops on Unifrog, Higher Level Apprenticeships and University Applications. They were also lucky enough to experience a Q&A session with one of our new Academy Governors on the challenges and experiences of working in a city investment bank.
The whole day embodied the values that best define the students and staff at The Halley Academy: respect, collaboration and achievement.
Strood Academy
Isaac Newell Exhibition
Medway Council, Medway Sport Team contacted the ADT department to see if we would like to be involved with an Isaac Newell Exhibition, held at the Guildhall Museum, and of course we jumped at the chance!
Isaac Newell was born in Strood in 1853 and lived in Higham at the time when Charles Dickens was at Gad’s Hill. He moved to Rosario, Argentina when he was 16. He later graduated as an English teacher and founded the Anglican Commercial College, (his own school) but more importantly with this story, took football to Argentina where his students enjoyed playing it! In 1903 his son Claudio founded (with some former students of his Dad’s school) a football club in his honour, naming it Newell’s Old Boys honouring his father’s life and work. Newell’s Old Boys heralds some of the greatest names in football, including Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona, Bielsa and Pochettino.
As the academy is based in Strood, Newell’s birthplace, our A Level Fine Art students decided to create some images of Strood in the 1800s. The landscapes produced are fantastic and can be seen at the Guildhall Museum from the 8th November until the 4th December 2022.
Strood Train station mural
Last year the ADT department were fortunate enough to work with a local artist and Medway council to create a mural for Strood train station. A group of Year 8 students supported the artist in designing the masterpiece. This year the art work was entered for a Community Rail Award. I am delighted to be able to report that the piece received third place at the Community Rail Award 2022 in the category of ‘Involving Children and Young People’. The art, design and technology department are very proud of the award and of the Year 8 students who supported the artist and took pride in creativity and community.
Students From Strood Academy Experience University Life at KBS
Our Year 11 students were privileged to attend the University of Kent, in particular the Kent Business School at the Medway Campus. Students were in for a treat as they came face to face with professors who were on hand to demonstrate what a typical University lecture 'looks' like. The topic was 'Sustainable Business' and it is fair to say our students made us proud with their focus and level of interaction and response.
An impressed Dr Sideeq Mohammed, who delivered the session, said: ‘The vibe in the room, the quality of answers and input coming from the students, the connection to the topic, was no different to an undergraduate seminar’.
Students also learnt about the broad range of options available at university when thinking about what to study and different pathways within business specifically.
Year 11 Take Action
Our Year 11 Citizenship students took action on their investigations by interviewing a member of the Police service. As part of their studies students must investigate a citizenship issue and find out different views from professionals and the public in society. This also served to be an opportunity for students to revise their knowledge on police powers and criminality as part of their studies.
Sparx Maths
Sparx Maths is the platform used by the academy for our weekly maths homework. Students love the platform as it includes videos to help with each question, but also that it has quick maths games in between each task completed, which provide a little break from the mental work. Even though students like the platform, they often find the more challenging questions hard to do, and so tend to not complete their homework. As an initiative to encourage the students to seek help and complete the homework, the department came up with a raffle. Each student who completes their homework on time receives a raffle ticket to place in the raffle box located in the maths department. At the end of each term, there is a draw to select the winners. There is a main prize for the first name selected, then smaller prizes for a student from each year group. Prizes range from hamper baskets to footballs.
Right to Read
Our form time reading initiative Right to Read is going well. Students have almost completed their first book of the academic year. Year 7 read The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Rauf, Year 8 read The Boy Who Steals Houses by C.G. Drews, and Year 9 read Wink by Rob Harrell. The Year 7s have done an amazing job at creating some alternative book covers! Well done Ms Wayne and 7V1 for these wonderful designs!
International Literacy Competition
We have been fortunate enough to collaborate with Ewarton High School, all the way from Jamaica, to run an International Literacy competition. We had multiple entrants from both schools, and are proud of all those who participated. In addition, we have launched two extra competitions so far this term; poetry, and creative writing.
Entries are now being judged by the external competition provider (Young Writers) and winners should be announced in Module Three.
Strood Academy Student Council
The new Strood Academy student council was elected in Term 1. Every student who wished to be part of the academy council wrote a manifesto explaining all about the issues which were important to them. Every student in the academy then had a vote and experienced the democratic process by casting their vote. The student council was then formed, made up of a representative from each college in every year group. The academy council is led by the senior student team from the sixth form.
The academy council soon got to work by having their first meeting of the academic year. They discussed their feelings on the new academic year and were keen to put their views across.
Live Theatre
All of our KS3 students (Years 7 - 9) watched a live theatre performance by the fantastic Solomon Theatre Company. The performance communicated societal issues through a production called Last Orders. The key takeaways from the performance were: the stages of intoxication, alcohol abuse, making choices, antisocial behaviour and relationships. Solomon Theatre Company will be back in March to perform to our KS4 cohort!
The Hundred of Hoo Academy
Term 1 and 2 has seen an enormous amount of sport being played across all year groups in a range of different activities at SJWMS.
Over 100 Year 7s have competed for one of the school’s A-G rugby teams and 91 Year 8s and 84 Yearr 9 pupils have also played a competitive fixture against another school, with most of these happening on a Saturday morning. In total just under 500 pupils have competed in rugby, cross country, table tennis, swimming and football since the start of the academic year.
At the start of the year we invited our Year 7 parents in, to ensure that their child’s transition went smoothly and that parents were confident in our curriculum, policies and points of contact. We hosted Year 7 Meet the Tutor events where we opened our site and allowed our pupils to be their parents’ guides. Families were able to go to form rooms, look at form books and meet the tutor to see who is in charge of pastoral care for the next 5 years.
We mirrored this event for our Year 12 cohort as well to ensure they felt equally supported. Our Year 12 Meet the Tutor welcomed families in to see the 6th form study spaces and common room as well as meet their pastoral care team. At these events, parents had personalised extended slots of time to discuss and question anything they wished at the start of their child’s new academic journey.
Our Senior Team then hosted a Year 7 information Evening.
We provided a variety of presentations that included information on our curriculum and the Middle Years Programme, home learning, how we assess pupils progress, Chromebooks and Google Classrooms, extra curricular activities and the Triple P Parenting programme. We had a record number of families attend.
Following this, our digital champions Andrea Onodi and Vice Principal Mrs Jenny Fissenden responded to parental feedback, and created a dedicated workshop for them to give them the tools to more effectively support their children at home. Our Digital Workshop taught parents how to use Google Classroom, MCAS and Google Forms.
Our Open Evening Event then saw over 1000 families come through our gates as prospective parents and their Year 6s came and explored a variety of subjects. Our visiting families were taken on a tour by our current pupils and were able to meet our outstanding teachers across the many subjects we have on offer. Our Principal Mr Guerin-Hassett delivered a speech sharing our core values, vision, culture and ethos. Some highlights were from our performing arts team who had the steel drums playing alongside performances from both dance and drama students and our science team who were conducting flame tests, PH testing, identifying samples with microscopes and even had hearts for pupils to explore!
We invited yet more families into our KS5 Futures event as several leaders and teachers were keen to show off the skills and progress of our current Year 12s and 13s on their academic journeys. We not only celebrated the new courses we’re adding to our 6th Form for 2023-24 of Spanish, ESports, 3D Design & BTEC Applied Law but enjoyed presenting the hard work our cohorts put into their current courses. We saw courage in two of our current pupils who stood in front of an exam hall full of adults and spoke about their current 6th form experiences! Both Jamie and Cullen gave exceptional speeches.
As we quickly approach PPE season, and securing success on the final steps towards exams, we hosted Year 11/13 Exam Information Evening. By supporting both year groups in PPE schedules, successful revision techniques and remaining focused throughout their exam years, we notice a drop in exam worries and nerves.
From these informative presentations led by Core Leaders, pupils leave feeling prepared, and aware of their next steps and how to approach them with confidence.
Most recently, we were able to share our pupils’ successes with their parents and our community at our Academy Awards Evening.
Once again, our performing arts department entertained parents with dance, drama and music as they had a relaxing evening congratulating our pupils for sporting successes, academic progress and excelling within the IB Learner Profile. It was a real pleasure to award some of our young people and celebrate their hard work, resilience, determination, achievements and much much more.
We welcomed back two former pupils Tracey Shelley and Sara Parfett who shared their incredible journeys with us since leaving the academy. The business leader and Olympic rower both inspired our community with stories of resilience, determination and grit.
The term ended with our Christmas Carol Concert on Friday 9th December, and we look forward to welcoming even more families through our doors in the New Year.
Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School
Term 1 and 2 has seen an enormous amount of sport being played across all year groups in a range of different activities at SJWMS.
Over 100 Year 7s have competed for one of the school’s A-G rugby teams and 91 Year 8s and 84 Yearr 9 pupils have also played a competitive fixture against another school, with most of these happening on a Saturday morning. In total just under 500 pupils have competed in rugby, cross country, table tennis, swimming and football since the start of the academic year.
Girls’ rugby continues to go from strength to strength and the number of 6th form playing has grown after our 1st season in 2021; at the time of writing the girls have played 5 games, winning 4 of them and the other a loss against a strong Medway U18 team. However, the highlight of our rugby season was the win in the county cup for the U14s. On route to the final the side beat Judd, Ravenswood School and then Colfes in the semi-final. The final played under floodlights at Gravesend Rugby Club, in horrendous weather saw the side win 22-7 over Langley Park School for Boys. This was another excellent performance and a reward for the hard work and sacrifice the boys have made since Year 7. The strength of the squad is remarkable and the U14B team are, along with the A team, unbeaten this year and have been since Year 7.
Finally in an event that already seems like it was some time ago, the school were the winners of the Medway Schools Cross Country Championships held at Capstone Park. In an excellent all round team performance the Year 8/9, Year 10/11, 6th form boys and sixth form girls teams ran out winners in their individual competitions. We have a number of students who have qualified for the Medway team who will be competing at the Kent Cross Country Championships in Dover in January.
Terms 3 and 4 will see netball, hockey, rugby (including the 7s competitions) and the long awaited cricket tour to Dubai finally depart. Exciting times!
More county success was achieved the following day when the U13 table tennis team won the county competition and we look forward to hearing how they progress in January at the regional championships.
In November the school hosted both the LAT primary and secondary swimming galas. Thanks go to Julie Palmer who played an invaluable role in the organisation of the events and helped make both go smoothly. Paddock Wood Primary Academy won the primary event and Hundred of Hoo the secondary event. All those who took part were a credit to their schools and performed extremely well.
Leigh Academy Rainham
With the growth of our staff body we have had an exciting start to the new academic year as our curriculum continues to broaden and diversify.
Design Curriculum
Our wonderful design teachers, Miss Ferguson and Mrs Jones, have been delivering a bespoke new global unit for Year 8 which blends design technology and ICT. Year 8 Students have been re-branding Coachella (a large American music festival), with a Mexican Day of the Dead theme to raise awareness of the large numbers of Mexican communities within the USA especially in the state of California and celebrating this culture. In ICT all students have been completing their rebranding campaign, including making a logo, poster and building a website for their festival. In textiles, students have been making a small zipped pencil case or make up bag with a Mexican theme to be sold at the festival as merchandise. In food technology, students have been designing a Mexican festival food item. This project (also known as an Interdisciplinary Unit in the MYP) gives students a chance to experience real-world scenarios and also to explore a different culture across the different disciplines- in this case, the traditional Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations.
We have also been running an amazing project with our Year 8 students in product design focused on Chinese New Year. Students have been investigating Chinese New Year and are in the process of producing a Chinese dragon toy made from MDF focusing on creating interlocking joints.
In Year 7 students have been completing projects with a global focus. Textiles students have been making tote bags with endangered animals on them to raise awareness for the work of wildlife charity WWF, and in product eesign they have been creating an acrylic keyring on their chosen country.
Student Leadership
At the end of Module 1 we hosted our Student Leadership Elections. Under the ‘Theme of the Fortnight: Democracy’, students were taught how to write persuasive speeches in literacy form time and potential candidates read these to their form groups prior to ballot day. We replicated the experience of a General Election for students, with them each receiving ballot papers for the candidates in their form groups which they took to their community spaces to vote privately before posting them in the College Ballot boxes. Thank you to Mrs Jones for making our beautiful new ballot boxes with our brand new technology equipment. Last year's student leaders were our counters and we were proud to celebrate and welcome our new Student Leaders in college assemblies at the start of Module 2. Well done to all our successful candidates!
Performing Arts Curriculum
This year our performing arts curriculum has taken flight thanks to Mr Clark with students mastering drama and music skills related to the topics studied in English and art. Students spent Module one learning about different theatrical techniques and how they could be used to bring a story to life on stage. They explored a range of performance styles and took part in a variety of small performances to their peers. Their assessed performance was in the style of Theatre in Education. Here, the students planned and delivered a well thought out performance, designed at teaching an important educational message to a primary school audience.
In Module two, students have been introduced to music. Here, they have learnt the fundamentals of music whilst improving their performance skill in singing, keyboard and xylophone. Students have studied a range of styles and researched key terminology to be used in context. Students are being taught the basics of understanding and reading music notation with a view of being able to sight read music by the end of KS3.
Alongside our curriculum, the performing arts department has offered a wonderful opportunity for students to involve themselves in extra-curricular activities. With choir, jazz piano, drama club and rehearsals for the Christmas pantomime, there is always something to involve yourself with in performing arts. Our courageous drama club students also performed a moving piece in the Anti Bullying Assembly as part of the ‘Reach Out’ Theme of the Fortnight.
Spanish Curriculum
In Spanish, with the arrival of Mr Sandland, we have adapted our MFL curriculum using evidence-based research methods that provide a more authentic learning experience, as if students were immersed in Spain learning the language alongside natives. The department has spent time looking at first and second language acquisition and ensuring that our methods are heavily based on cognitive science and memory. This new approach has allowed students to feel highly successful in creating accurate pieces of extended writing, just weeks into starting the course. For example students in Year 7 have spent the first two modules focusing on phonics and spontaneous language. This has allowed students to feel confident in asking a range of questions and speaking articulately. Year 8 have spent the first two modules becoming verb masters and have been immersed in a range of topics focusing on a range of tenses and people.
