Secondary
Academies
The Leigh Academy
Remembrance at The Leigh Academy
We were privileged to welcome back three local veterans this year to join us to commemorate Remembrance Day: Harry Chapman, Secretary of the local Royal British Legion, Chris Ridgewell, veteran of Korea and the Cold War and Ted Needham, veteran of the D Day landings. All joined us to participate in our Remembrance service, with two minutes silence when all of our Leigh community, students and staff reflected on those members of the armed forces, their families and civilians who have lost their lives or whose lives have been impacted by past conflicts. This annual event has become a huge part of our Leigh culture and provides an opportunity to reflect on how fortunate we are to have the freedoms that we do and the rights and quality of life so many of us enjoy in Britain today. This year, students from Year 7 and 8 were chosen to lay the wreaths and to plant the ceramic poppies, previously displayed at The Tower of London.
Post 16 History students were able to join the veterans for tea and cake after the service and enjoyed this unique experience of hearing stories from the veterans and to celebrate Ted’s upcoming 97th birthday.
The annual Remembrance service at The Leigh is part of our culture as we join as a community, when we remember those that have fallen, we also look positively towards the future and are ever hopeful for an end to war and conflict.
Odd Socks Day at The Leigh Academy
At The Leigh we have participated in Anti Bullying Fortnight. The challenges of the last 18 months have underlined how little acts of consideration can break down barriers and brighten the lives of the people around us. This is one of the reasons that ‘One Kind Word’ was the theme chosen for our Anti-Bullying Fortnight that took place from 15th to 26th of November 2021. Students benefited from assemblies and tutor time activities where bullying and its impact was discussed with the clear zero tolerance strategy highlighted as well as the ways to report any concerns. Students discussed how to best support their peers and look out for younger students within our Leigh family. The highlight of the fortnight was Odd Socks Day, when staff and students wore odd socks as a way to raise awareness that we are all different, we all make up our diverse, yet inclusive community. We even had a competition with entries to decide whose socks were whose! Students reported that the themed fortnight allowed positive conversations and actions about hope and all the kind words and actions we can take to halt any hurtful behaviour in its tracks.
Art Trip to Whitstable
This month our Arts students were delighted to be able to experience their first off site educational visit for some time. Year 11 students travelled by train to Whitstable, accompanied by the Arts team and enjoyed a rather windy day on the beach and visiting the local town with the opportunity to sketch their surroundings. An enjoyable day out together and a great opportunity to get some field experience to add to their portfolios.
Longfield Academy
In module one, we had our open days (two evenings and five mornings) for prospective year 7 students. Altogether, we received almost 2,000 prospective parents and carers to our academy. We were very impressed with the interest the event generated and we now look forward to receiving the applications in the hope that we will be oversubscribed once again as we work towards re-establishing our academy’s status as the school of choice within the community. Several of our students acted as tour guides and were excellent ambassadors for the school. We also had a settling-in event for current year 7 parents where they had the opportunity to tour the school, meet tutors and look at some of the work students had completed. The evening was well attended and offered staff another opportunity to work in partnership with parents.
Our sixth form open evening on 10 November was successful too. There were 135 families in attendance, including external candidates. In the next few weeks, we will have progression meetings with our year 11 students and their parents to discuss their next steps, requirements and support to help them progress.
We are pleased to be able to share in this edition of the Trust newsletter some of the remarkable achievements of our students and staff so far in this academic year. It has undoubtedly been a very busy start to the academic year but members of our community have not relented in their efforts to achieve the very best for themselves and their community, and in the process have brought great honour to all of us within the community. We salute all our students and colleagues for the great work.
Johnny competed in the English National Junior Boxing Championships. He won his semi final on Saturday 6th November by a unanimous decision and again won the final the next day with another unanimous decision. Johnny is now the best boy in England for his age and weight.
Geography Trip
In September the year 13 geographers visited Walton-on-the-Naze over two days to collect their primary data for their coursework. Students spent the morning measuring beach profiles, cliff profiles, infiltration rates and in the afternoon they went into the town, where students carried out land use mapping, pedestrian counts, car park surveys and questionnaires. The students and staff had a great few days out even if It was cold and windy. It was just like a Geography field trip should be!
Photography Trip - Cobham Village
On October 14th the year 10 photography group embarked on a photoshoot to Cobham Village. The focus of the trip was for the students to gain confidence in using the cameras' different settings and to develop their use of composition, depth of field and aperture. We all had a great afternoon, with beautiful sunshine perfect for an autumnal village scene.
Telescope Reopening
On Friday 22nd October, we were finally able to open up our much beloved Telescope restaurant to members of the public for the first time, post lockdown. After several weeks of our students trialling their dishes on staff, we were delighted to welcome back 15 members of our local community to dine with us. As always the feedback was amazing and it was great to see the smiles back on the faces of our returning guests.
After this initial success we then introduced our Christmas menu on Thursday 18th November. With a menu showcasing delights such as braised red wine marinated gigot of lamb garnished with lardons of smoked bacon and roasted crown of turkey garnished with sage and onion stuffing balls, the interest was soaring. Within a few days, we had sold out of bookings for the whole of Christmas. It truly is a wonderful feeling welcoming back our members of the local community after such a long time. The experience this gives our students is invaluable and really helps them to prepare for a career within the industry.
Here is some of the feedback we have received in the last week:
Wow, the college certainly surpassed themselves today. Absolutely delicious meal, beautifully presented. Very happy, satisfied SIRG members on our table.
Just to let you know that the meal was superb - think it was the best we have ever had there. The service was exceptional too. All tables were in agreement so I hope that they tipped generously.
I just wanted to say on behalf of mum, dad and myself what a wonderful meal we had today. Thank you for organising it. I am sure everyone else will say that the meals were large , plentiful and very well presented.
Just staggered in full up. Meal was just great. We all thought it was the best ever.
We look forward to expanding our offer of seat allocation in the new year.
GCSE Cyclopark Moderation
On Monday 15th and Friday 19th November, the PE department took 15 students to Cyclopark in Gravesend to complete their GCSE moderation in road cycling. On the first day, students had to first get used to road bikes before they could tackle the course. They were soon up and running and going through the skills needed to meet the specification criteria. Day two was their chance to show off all their skills and prove to the instructors and their teachers that they could ride in a team and as an individual. Well done to all the students involved and we look forward to finding out their results.
Giving Tree
Our post 16 students are taking part in the Bluewater Giving Tree charity event this year. This is a great cause supporting charities across Kent and Sussex to help make disadvantaged children’s Christmas truly magical. Students are collecting money in their tutor groups and they will then get the opportunity to choose age appropriate gifts which we will purchase. All post 16 students will then take a trip to Bluewater at the end of this term to hand over the gifts.
As we bring this module to a close, we would like to thank all our students, colleagues and families for the continued support that makes Longfield Academy such a special place. We wish you all the very best Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Wilmington Academy
We are delighted to report that Wilmington Academy has received national accreditation for the tremendous work that has gone into promoting emotional wellbeing and positive mental health across the academy since 2019. Consequently, we have been awarded the Wellbeing Award for Schools, in partnership with the National Children’s Bureau, and have added the accreditation below to our website.
The Wellbeing Award for Schools focuses on changing the long-term culture of the school by using an evidence-based framework to drive change. Our bespoke wellbeing service, facilitated by two very experienced wellbeing managers, enables daily support for every student, their parents/carers and staff, and has been recognised by our external verifier as an ‘invaluable resource’.
In addition some highlights in the final report were:
Leaders are reflective on the progress made and able to identify and articulate the next steps
The schools support for mental health and wellbeing and wider pastoral provision is well led and the school has invested significantly to build capacity to deliver further support
The small school, college model enables students to develop a greater sense of belonging
The school has key individuals with significant expertise of mental health and wellbeing
Staff, parents/carers and students recognised the crucial role that the pastoral team and wellbeing service play in supporting the needs of students
Support is effectively coordinated with safeguarding and SEN provision through regular meetings
There is a strong sense of team and belonging among staff, students and parents who feel valued and listened too
The school provides additional support before and after transition to secondary school to ensure all students get off to a good start and build a sense of belonging quickly.
Our website was also recognised as a great resource, containing useful links to external agencies.
We would like to thank those students and parents who met with the verifier from the Wellbeing Award for Schools to share their experiences of the support that has been put in place for them.
Reach for the Stars
We are delighted to announce the launch of our successful rewards programme ‘Reach for the Stars’ for 2021/22. This has proved an excellent motivational tool in the past to help support and encourage exam students to strive for the best grades possible, whilst earning rewards along the way.
The programme is used to motivate and engage students in the run up to both GCSE and KS5 exams, and a year 11 and 13 raising standards student group have created a four module programme where all students can achieve rewards for their effort in class, attendance at school and attendance at revision sessions.
Students can monitor their progress via their key stage ‘Reach for the Stars’ tracker and rewards include a ‘fast-track’ lunch pass, food from our restaurant, a Bluewater or Amazon voucher, and vouchers towards summer prom tickets.
Student Librarians
Mr Chapman (a former student) is our new Librarian and he has wasted no time in implementing some exciting new initiatives in our library, including the provision of Student Librarians. Students had to complete an application process which included having a teacher reference, so that they could be considered for the position. Not only does the position involve helping out in the library, but also includes peer mentoring of younger students who are struggling to read fluently.
The Student Librarians have started their roles with a real gusto and are really enjoying making a difference:
“Being a student librarian meant that I was a caretaker for all the information and knowledge of all books of literature. When I got the news that I've been awarded the role of being student librarian, I was astonished. To be a student librarian, I assist with the library to maintain the proper operation of the library on a daily basis. I have always had an interest in books, especially books surrounded by crime, human behaviours and life in general. I was chosen for this role because I portrayed leadership skills, communicative skills and organisational skills. My duty as a student librarian is to shelve and evaluate books, as well as to assist students in properly using the library and to render assistance to library staff when necessary, and most of all to be a role model for the younger years, so they may also aspire to be student librarians. My goal is to make the library a joyful and secure environment for all book lovers.”
Chidinma - Year 11
“...But what is a student librarian, you may ask? Well, a student librarian is a student that helps within the library to assist and aid individuals needs. Our job is to motivate and ignite students' love for reading and learning. We help to assist throughout the library either if students need assistance with selecting books, completing homework or sharing opinions about various books. We additionally aid the librarian with tasks such as putting the books away, cleaning up and keeping the library in good condition. The student librarians contribute to the efficiency of the library by providing us with a sense of responsibility and pride with the badges we wear every day and knowing that our job is to help throughout the library and assist those to the best of our capacity. But we all get to share one coming love - reading!”
Grace - Year 11
The Leigh UTC
6th Annual Students’ Awards Dinner
On Wednesday 17th November we held our 6th Annual Awards Dinner.
This event celebrates the achievements of some of our fantastic students along with some of our business partners, staff and the students’ family and friends.
This year we had three of our Alumni speaking about their experiences since leaving the UTC and how the opportunities they had supported them in their chosen career. We also had guest speakers from Baker Dearing Trust who support all UTC's.
Teachers are asked to nominate students in a number of different categories and, from this list, 13 students were identified to receive awards.
The categories were STEM Year 9 award, STEM Year 10 award, Computer Science KS4 award, Engineering KS4 award, Computer Science Post 16 award, Engineering Post 16 award, STEM Post 16 award, IB Resilience award, IB Problem Solver award, IB Caring award, IB Principled award, IB Inquiry award, IB Communicator award.
Well done to Temi, Kian, Miles, Rhys, Lewis, Tochi, Christopher, RJ, Wesleigh, Rebecca, Ronnie, Blake, Caitlin and Mia.
Our Business Partner of the Year is Bericote Powerhouse, and we would like to thank them for all the work they have done with our students over the past year.
Cameron, one of our ex students who is studying an engineering apprenticeship with Kenard and The Leigh UTC won Apprentice of the Year. Thank you to everyone who helped make this such a lovely event including Clive Barker, our Chair of Governors who made sure the event was on track, and Cucina for the wonderful food.
Reunification Day
The Leigh UTC Language Ambassadors presented an assembly to year 7 students about Reunification Day - a day that celebrates the unification of the east and west of Germany after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. The celebration features carnivals, fireworks and street parties and, while the school did not take part in any of the festivities, it was great to learn about it and recognise the importance of such a historical event.
Year 11 Electronics Thames Water Challenge
Y11 Electronics were off their normal timetable on 16th November 2021 in order to complete the Thames Water Challenge. The aim was for them to learn about more advanced input and output control systems and put it into a context of a real world problem.
Students began by visiting Thames Water at Longreach where they had the chance to view a variety of electronic control systems used by Thames Water to control water. The tour was supported by an apprentice electronic engineer who could help students understand what he did on a daily basis as part of his job.
Amazing Apprenticeships
One of our alumni Amelia, who studied engineering with us, has just been recognised for her amazing work as an apprentice for Coca-Cola.
She has just won the FMEA apprentice of the year award, and so Amazing Apprenticeships has run a small feature on her. To hear Amelia's story, use link below to visit Amazing Apprenticeships website:
Year 8 Science
Here year 8s can be seen enjoying their practical lessons in Science. Year 8s have been learning about food energy, and have completed the ‘food burning’ experiment to see how much energy is contained within different foods.
Mascalls Academy
It has been amazing to have an almost normal module at Mascalls, the biggest sign of that being the multiple trips that have taken place and oh, how we’ve missed them!
This module we have taken our year 10 Design and Technology pupils to IKEA to explore sustainable furniture and how to develop innovative ideas around design and construction. Pupils have been hands-on in exploring “good design” testing and trialling the products.
Year 13 Geographers spent an afternoon on the beaches of Hastings and Bexhill and made various measurements based on hypotheses, such as whether the sediment on one side of the side groyne is higher due to longshore drift. This forms part of their assessed fieldwork and the data was recorded for future analysis. Following the coastal fieldwork the students enjoyed a meal in Picasso. After dinner students went to the De La Warr Pavilion to listen to a lecture from Sir Ranulph Fiennes, often described as the world's most famous living explorer. A main part of the illustrated talk was of his trip to circumnavigate the world taking in both Poles and only using foot and boat. The inspirational talk referenced geographical issues such as climate change and Antarctica as well as the importance of A levels and his own hero - Sir Ernest Shackleton.
Year 11 and 12 Art students went to the Horniman museum in London, into the butterfly house, and took images of the wing patterns and textures to inspire their current project based on transformation. They also went into the main museum and the students were inspired by the cultural artefacts which may inform their future projects. They were all fantastic at representing the school with their behaviour.
As a new rewards initiative for this module, students received either an embroidered badge for their academy blazer or an academy colours tie. Students are awarded academy colours or half colours following subject or college nomination that are related to effort, achievement, attendance and attitude to learning. Students awarded full academy colours get a fast track canteen queue and access to additional reward trips throughout the year.
They have shown an exceptional level of achievement consistently. We are incredibly proud of them and how they have modelled exceptional strength of character in such challenging times. We were also incredibly impressed with how well all year 10 and 11 students received those winners during the assembly. More colours will be up for grabs throughout the year, congratulations to all of our winners.
So much Christmas
As we reach December and the countdown to Christmas begins there are a significant number of events planned. In addition to the non-uniform day, Friday 10th December is Christmas jumper day where students can wear their wildest Christmas jumper. Our sixth form students will be supporting the Paddock Wood community wardens delivering food via the foodbank.
Students from Performing Arts will also be performing at the Paddock Wood light-up on 28th November, alongside students from Design Technology representing the academy selling their own arts and crafts.
Sunday 28th November is the first all day dance rehearsal. Nearly 100 students from different year groups will be rehearsing from 9am-4pm to prepare for the sold out dance show. They will be doing the same again next Sunday on top of a full week at school in preparation. We are extremely proud of the commitment these students give to making the show a success.
On Wednesday 1st December we will welcomed 40 residents from two local care homes for a Christmas tea. This was a collaborative event between Performing Arts and Design Technology where the guests were treated to a small performance from each department and Christmas tea, made by students from Catering.
On 9th, 10th and 11th December was 'Tear the Ground Away', The Mascalls Academy Annual Dance show which sold out in just over a week. Miss Butler released extra tickets for each night which sold out in 24 hours. We are so excited to have live performances back at the academy.
14th December is the Year 7 Christmas Sharing in aid of the Bereko Community. Friends and relatives will be welcomed with festive drinks before enjoying students' performances and readings. Tickets for this event are free but we will be accepting donations for this evening in support of the schools international charity The Bereko Community via Eventbrite.
All in all, a pretty busy term, oh and we had Ofsted too. Have a wonderful Christmas all.
Ebbsfleet Academy
With the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions we have been delighted to reintroduce school trips to enhance the curriculum at Ebbsfleet Academy.
In September our EA6 students visited The Queen’s College, one of the colleges of the prestigious Oxford University, to see what life is like in a city university, to meet and question current university students, and to uncover some of the truth about the myths they may have heard about university.
The Religious Studies department organised a study visit to the local Gurdwara in Gravesend. Year 10 GCSE RE students had an opportunity to cook, serve and eat together in the Guru Ka Langar.
All GCSE PE students were given the opportunity to participate in a two-day cycling course, followed by a short assessment at the end of day 2. This counts towards their final assessment as one of the two sports each student must study.
We have also been welcoming students from local Primary schools to experience life in our Academy. Cherry Orchard Primary Academy (COPA) year 6 students have visited the Academy on Wednesday afternoons this module, experiencing trampolining, basketball and food technology with EA staff as part of our Primary and Secondary collaboration work.
Year 6 students from COPA and other local primary schools have also enjoyed the opportunity to take part in Literacy, Numeracy, Arts, Textiles and PE during our free Saturday School provision this module.
Hayesbrook Academy
Movember at Hayesbrook
8 members of staff at Hayesbrook continued the Movember tradition and proudly grew a moustache during the month of November. Every year it gives the academy a great opportunity to discuss issues around men's mental health and male specific cancer. It also allows us to raise money for two charities, who this year were Hospice in the Weald and CALM. Staff managed an impressive range of moustaches, even Mr Tapsfield who was at home with Covid. However, the good news is, that none of the staff involved have kept their moustache into December!
Ex-Pupils setting the bar high
As part of the academy’s aspiration programme, Hayesbrook closely follows the careers of a wide range of our ex-pupils, through the ‘Sat in your seat’ programme.
During modules 1 and 2 pupils have been kept informed of some of these ex-pupils exploits and some have recorded video messages for the pupils.
Two notable stories have involved Jordan Gabriel, who transferred for £1million from Nottingham Forest to Blackpool FC, and Ben Tulett who has joined Ineos Grenadiers Cycling team who have won 7 out of the last 10 Tour de France races. Ben has donated some of his previous team kits that have been used as pupil prizes during Module 2. Both pupils continue to be excellent role models of the PRIDE values of the academy and we wish them well over the next twelve months of their careers.
Co-Curriculum
Over the first 2 modules of the academic year we have been excited to see the return of Enrichment on Thursdays, this has been an overwhelming success with over 15 different options available to our pupils. A broad focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts or Maths, alongside a healthy range of sports and languages has meant the pupils have truly been ‘Enriched’. Inter-school sports has returned with an array of fixtures in both football and basketball for all years. Additional opportunities have been offered in Boxing and Crossfit, supported by Olympia Boxing and Crossfit Tonbridge, two companies who are working hard to build further opportunities for the Hayesbrook pupils.
Our CCF Unit has grown from strength to strength with a huge recruitment drive in July seeing over 25 new Pupils join in September. The Duke Of Edinburgh programme continues through the winter with the planning of the expeditions ready for the warmer months to come.
One of the greatest successes of the the last 2 modules has been the re-introduction of outside speakers coming into school to boost the Careers and PSHCE offering, The Year 7 and 8 pupils had an outstanding 2 hour webinar with E-Jaguar about the exciting world of motor racing, and careers in engineering and the motor world. All pupils have had the opportunity to Welcome Owen from Hope Not Hate, who delivered wonderful sessions on the use of language and how it can be appropriately used. We will continue to work with Hope not Hate to engage with their other units on Race and Equality. Key Stage 3 pupils took part in an online Alcohol awareness course with Smashed and once again it was a resounding success, seeing the pupils' knowledge of this area grow throughout the session. All pupils in Years 10-13 welcomed Andy from the Kenward Trust speaking about making good decisions regarding Drugs, Alcohol and all the associated behaviours, he drew on his past to give a hard hitting and insightful experience to the pupils. The Module has finished with a superb live event with Kent Crime Stoppers regarding knife crime and the risks involved with this highly poignant topic, our Year 8-9-10 pupil listened to Lauren with anticipation and intrigue. Moving into Module 3 we will see the Kenward Trust returning and a significant engagement with the Royal Navy Careers.
High Weald Academy
For Children in Need Day five intrepid staff; Mr Nolan, Mr Slowey, Miss O'Connor Mr Reid and Mr Endicott courageously ''volunteered'' to be the lunchtime recipients of ''custard pies'' (aka plates of shaving foam ably and amply constructed by Mr Whelan!) thrown by many of our ''courageous'' students -- once they paid for the privilege of doing so!!
As a result, lunchtime that Friday saw High Weald Academy morphe into ''Pie Weald Academy''
A great time was had by one and all (we think anyway!) and much needed contributions made to Children in Need
Huge thanks to Mr Nolan who ensured we all knew about and organised the entire day. Mr Nolan enabled staff and pupils to dress in their favorite football / rugby / sports shirt and, along with Mr Storey, laid on a wonderful cake sale at break time - many of which were provided by Mrs Grey.
THE HIGH WEALD ACADEMY FARM
CHRISTMAS FATSTOCK SHOW NEWS
For many years we have attended the local annual Fatstock Shows. This is an opportunity for us to compete against the best animals and showmen in the South East. The aim is to produce the best lambs, pigs and cattle for the Christmas trade. This is a very tough competition which takes months of planning, feeding, training and preparing to have the animals in show condition, as well as in perfect condition for sale.
We are a very small farm but do have a very good reputation for quality animals and students. This year we attended two shows, The South Eastern Prime Stock Winter Fayre held at the South of England Showground Ardingly on 25th November and the Ashford Fatstock Show held at the Ashford Market on 30th November.
We had a small team, taking six lambs and two prime cattle to Ardingly and the same amount to Ashford. The cattle at Ardingly came 2nd and 4th in their classes against very strong competition. Miss Martha Perry, my Farm Assistant, had prepared the cattle and showed them brilliantly.
This year I was in charge of the lamb pairs, gaining two 1sts and a 4th. We then went with our firsts into the Championships and were judged as the Champion Continental Lambs and finally after being judged against the Native Champions were “put up” as the “Supreme Champions” of the show.
The judge who had come from Wales said they were a “perfect pair”. We were all delighted!
At Ashford, after another 4:30am start, we were again placed very well with our lambs coming first and being the Young Farmer Champions and then the Reserve Overall Show Champions. Our cattle again were selected as winners, coming 1st and 2nd and then Champion and Reserve Champion in the YFC section. Celeste, our Lim X heifer was chosen as the Reserve Overall Show Champion - another fantastic result!
After the showing comes the sale, not the happiest of moments but everything at our farm has had the best possible life and they have to be sold to pay for the next crop. They all sold very well and will cover all of their costs.
In total we gained:-
6 Trophies
1 Supreme Champion
3 Champions
2 Reserve Supreme Champions
Lots of 1st Places
We believe you are only as good as your last set of results, I think we did well and we are already planning for next year.
From all at the Farm, we wish you all a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year.
Stationers' Crown Woods Academy
Robot making, debating competitions, CCF recruitment and the launch of Powerful Young Voices - just some of our academy life that we are so proud of already this year!
This month, 60 of our students from years 9 and 10 took part in our first ever STEM day. The event, which was hosted by the Smallpiece Trust, saw students taking part in an incredible autonomous vehicle challenge! Students faced the challenge of designing, building and programming their very own self-driving cars using Lego Mindstorms. Would their cars successfully navigate their way around the maps?!
This week, 35 students from year 10 have embarked on a fierce paintball style session on the field, led by the Royal Marines, for a coveted place in our on-site Combined Cadet Force.
Just last month, 90 students had the fantastic opportunity to take part in the Jack Petchey ‘Speak Up, Speak Out!’ workshops; students were given the opportunity to be trained by an expert coach in the skills of oracy and public speaking which culminated in students having a platform to deliver their own crafted speeches to their peers and staff. We eagerly await news of how the next stage goes for those students selected for the next round...
Student Leadership at SCWA has reached a whole new level and we couldn’t be more excited. From our president, vice president, our Wellbeing and Mental Health Leader, Charity and Community Leader, Mentors, Headteacher Ambassadors, Student Council members from all years and the 84 students from years 7-11 who have chosen to be founding members of our academy student voice ‘SCWA Powerful Young Voices’: Powerful Young Voices is our student voice.
Students have joined who wish to have a voice, be a voice and make a change. We now have newly established student committees: an Inclusion Committee, an Anti-Bullying Committee, an LGBTQIA+ Committee, a Safe Space Committee, an Environmental Committee, a Charity Committee, a Diversity Committee and a Mental Health Committee, and we now embark on the next phase with student training and meetings with action! Our Safe Space Committee have already begun their work and have been working with Ms Thomas and tutor groups to create class pledges in support of White Ribbon Day 2021. These will be displayed in the academy as our collective pledge to say ‘no’ to violence against women. We are looking forward to seeing the outcome of the Inclusions Committee first action as they work together on recognising Disability Month 2021. Watch this space for more student voice action from SCWA!
This term we warmly welcomed members of the Stationers’ Foundation Committee to our academy for a lovely afternoon spent with some of our student ambassadors; our visitors observed first hand how amazing the promethean boards are for students and staff alike in Maths and Science. We are delighted and very grateful to the Stationers’ for their continued investment and cannot wait for our History and Geography teams to also benefit from these wonderful resources later this term.
We also had the pleasure and privilege of recognising some of our hardest working and most committed students in the academy at our Annual Prize Giving held in the prestigious Cutlers’ Hall in London. This is always a wonderful evening of celebration with our students, families and guest speakers.
This has been a fantastic year as we all return to a far greater sense of normality and we look forward to what the rest of the year will bring.
Pitch Perfect
BIMA Digital Day
This competition is run by the British Interactive Media Association (BIMA), whose purpose is to represent the interactive media and digital content industry in the UK and support the next generation of digital professionals. Students are you listening?…
On Wednesday 10th November SCWA played host to the digital design agency williamjoseph.com. Rania Nur and her colleague James Gadsby Peet joined 18 Year 10 Media students for a Digital Day to create a winning solution to the potentially devastating carbon footprint issue. Students were given two hours to come up with digital products with the industry professionals giving real world advice and encouragement as students rose to the challenge.
The competition was launched to go some way to address a digital skills shortage which is holding back UK growth. The Centre for Economics and Business Research believes the shortage of tech and digital talent is costing the UK £21.8bn. This competition was developed to inspire students and show them the potential of a digital career.
In a totally unique event the BIMA Digital Day gives 11 -16 year olds an insight into a world of digital careers. Students compete to make a digital product, with a prize of £500 to chase. This year’s topic was ‘Our Carbon Footprint’ and students were charged with developing a digital product to raise awareness, identify or go some way to solving the energy problem. It is the bringing together of a real world problem and the digital world of almost limitless possibility that makes for an exciting day's work.
And so students got to work.
Digital product number one was a game based on fish where if you take too many you starve and die and if you take too few then the fish all die - this is designed to teach the delicate balance between ourselves and the ecosystem that supports us.
Product two was an app that you can download which will tell you where the nearest water fountain is. These water fountains will have a planet friendly design based on the elephant. These ‘Water of Life’ fountains will also carry small brass plaques with dedications to loved ones, much like benches in and at views of outstanding beauty. These plaques will help pay for the upkeep and to remind us that we have to pass the planet on to the future generations. Business will also be involved in the sponsorship of the water fountains and the app, similar to Santander and the bikes.
Product number three was a series of digital films, adverts and posters which will pop up on TikTok, Instagram and other popular platforms. This is done to reinforce to the target audience that they must take responsibility for the direction the planet is heading in and how our every action, no matter how small, increases our carbon footprint. The main aim of these short films is to keep the message simple and direct: all our actions have a consequence so are we going to make a giant crater of a footprint or a gentle impression in the sand?
Product number four was a website which acted as an umbrella for all the various aspects of the carbon footprint: the factual, the science, raising awareness quizzes and games. The site would also have an education section where the most important people can have access to the information. And who are these important people - why you, the future...
“We loved seeing the enthusiasm that the students brought to the challenge. Within a couple of hours they covered a huge amount of ground with some genuinely interesting ideas coming out of the process. In a digital agency, communication, the ability to move information between various IT platforms and programs and the use of creative digital media skills are absolutely core to our work. I'd encourage anyone interested in pursuing a career in this area to use opportunities like this, to get as much practice as possible in both.”
James Gadsby Peet & Rania Nur
Students then had to pitch their ideas to the panel made up from the industry professionals and members of the Creative Digital Media department so that one idea can go forward to the national competition. It was hard and each idea had, from an industry point of view, its own merit. It was hard but the winner in the end was the ‘Water of Life’ app with its specific aim of reducing single use water bottles. So it is Team Humanity who carry SCWA hopes forward into the national competition.
“The 'BIMA Digital Day' was an extremely interesting and educational workshop which gave us students not only the chance to learn the various career paths within media but also the chance to engage with a real world practical problem. It gave us an opportunity to use our research skills to investigate and try to go some way to solving a very real and increasingly pressing issue, carbon footprint. It was great to be able to draw on our own knowledge of the digital world and modern technology. This was helped by the presence of two digital agency professionals James and Rania who shared their industry knowledge to create solutions to this problem. Furthermore, I really appreciated the fact that we were not restricted to a certain interpretation of the problem or the digital product we had to create. This meant that across the group there were various solutions ranging from websites, apps and adverts all presented in different, unique ways. This allowed us to use our independent ideas and to formulate ideas to solve the issue. It would be good if we could get to work like this more often."
Georgia, Year 10
Leigh Academy Blackheath
Clubs and Societies at LAB
Clubs and societies are a large part of life here at Leigh Academy Blackheath (LAB), with staff and students coming together at the start or end of the day to share a common interest, hobby or to learn a new skill. There are 31 different clubs and societies available to members of our community during this module, and so far this year we have seen over half of our student community attend at least one regularly each week.
Clubs and societies on offer range from food club, to choir, to morning basketball which is run by our Year 10 PE Ambassadors. We also run an astronomy club, debate society, Pride Youth Network and coding club. Our most popular club at present is Friday Sports Club which has had over 200 attendees some weeks!
At LAB we believe that attending a club or society is a fundamental part of our students’ Personal Development, and we encourage all students to participate not only because it is fun, but also to help them build friendships outside their tutor groups as well as the many varied benefits for their mental health and wellbeing.
A pupil voice is held each module by our student government to see which other opportunities we could offer them going forward. Typically, if we cannot deliver a club or society ‘in house’ we would look to take advantage of the areas of expertise within our local community.
The well-being of our students is of utmost importance. Following the recent disruption to their lives from extended periods of lockdown and remote learning, we endeavour to provide them with varied opportunities each and every day, to support their physical, mental, and social growth.
There are already plans in place for more variety after Christmas, with preparations for knitting, board game club and creative writing clubs already underway!
The Halley Academy
Student Leadership at The Halley Academy
The first module back has been an exciting one for student leadership within The Halley Academy. On 12th October, a galvanized group of students reignited The Halley Academy Social Action Group's campaign to help make misogyny a hate crime. Leah (Year 13), Tristan (Year 11), Federica (Year 11), Daniel (Year 9), Sara (Year 9) and Mohamed (Year 8) all bravely delivered a speech to The Tallow Chandlers Company, one of London's oldest Livery Companies who support and partner with education establishments within the community; including The Halley Academy. Their speech was overwhelmingly powerful and focused on the issues of misogyny within our local community and the need for change: ‘We will continue to fight to make misogyny a hate crime for a fairer, more equal future'.
Clerk of The Tallow Chandlers, David Homer said “Thank you so much for allowing the Social Action Group to join the Tallow Chandlers ‘Reading of the Ordinances’. An important evening for the Company became extra special”. He said that our students “spoke with extraordinary confidence, deportment, clarity and conviction”.
Well done to everyone involved.
Strood Academy
Following the Covid alterations it was wonderful to welcome students back into the college system at the Academy that was used prior to the pandemic (during which we had to switch to a year group system and no circulation of students around the building). There was a whole college assembly to remind students of the expectations of the Academy when moving around the school as well as reminding them of their college’s identity and evoking pride in the students to be a part of their college. The Heads of Trafalgar, Hercules and Victory were able to celebrate rewards and Mr Knight was delighted to share the news with his college that Trafalgar were ahead in the rewards points compared to the other two colleges. With students back in their college bases, it has been wonderful to see students engaging in their Tutor Time sessions.
It has also been wonderful to get clubs, groups and activities set up and running again across the school. Clubs such as the various health and fitness clubs, performing arts groups, the LGBTQ+ group, and a range of subject-specific clubs and groups that have been really well attended so far this year; and the students have been so happy to be able to take part in them again. In particular, it has been fantastic to see so many students accessing the additional opportunities provided by the Physical Education department again this academic year. With the return of extra curricular clubs, fixtures, competitions and trips we have seen a significant increase in the number of students engaging in physical activity outside of curriculum time.
Students have been able to access a variety of clubs including; Football, Netball, Fitness, Boxing, Tennis, Rugby, and Basketball. One of the most popular clubs has been Fitness with students particularly keen in accessing the Fitness Room since it has undergone extensive building renovations over the summer holidays that created additional space which has been filled with a new weights area, with equipment being supplied by Revival Systems.
Link to visit Revival Systems Website:
It has also been a welcome sight that the Medway Schools Football League has once again been reinstated as this has given students from multiple Key Stages the opportunity to play competitively against other local schools. With some impressive performances witnessed by the teams, we are looking forward to being able to fulfil the remainder of fixtures in Term 4 to determine the final placements within these leagues.
The Medway Secondary School Games has also commenced and we have had a number of students represent the Academy in various activities. On 7th October a selection of students from Key Stage 3 and 4 travelled to Capstone Country Park where they competed in a Cross Country competition that was completed over various terrains and distances, all of which required students to show a great level of determination and resilience to finish. All students had an enjoyable day and showed great comradeship amongst them. We had a total of five students finish in the Top 16 within their category and they have subsequently been invited to the Kent Schools Cross Country in January.
As well as all the enrichment opportunities after school for the students, there have been several trips already this year that the students have attended such as a trip to Canterbury Christchurch University, Hairspray the Musical, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Gallery, and the US Politics Conference. Over 200 of our students were also treated to a morning at the cinema for their own private viewing of a movie as a reward for their outstanding representation at our recent Open Evening.
There has also been some excellent work going on across the academy in subjects. To celebrate Black History Month, year 11 BTEC Dance students delivered an amazing after-school workshop to students and staff. Students taught a piece of repertoire called Revelations which was choreographed by a famous African American dance pioneer of the 20th century. Great work everyone!
The Hundred of Hoo Academy
At The Hundred of Hoo Academy, we have had a busy first module. We have been making the most of every opportunity to ensure our pupils have some normality back, whilst nurturing and broadening their cultural capital.
At their earliest opportunity our Performing Arts department was back out in the theatre. Ms Dare took 44 pupils from years 9-13 with her. As this was many pupils’ first theatrical experience, it will be used throughout their work this year as an example of professional theatre. Through this terrifying play, our learners were able to experience the highs and lows of live theatre, with extra screams thrown in for good measure. Pupils were fascinated by, not only the horrific story told on stage but the use of lights and sound to trick them into using their imagination and suspending their disbelief; one student exclaiming 'she just appeared out of nowhere, how did they do that?' It was an incredible experience and the Performing Arts Department can't wait to do it again!
In addition to this, feeling keen to give our year 7 pupils something extraordinary, our History team took 79 year 7 pupils to see ‘Horrible Histories Live’ at The Orchard Theatre in Dartford. The show, Barmy Britain, explores stories from Roman, Tudor, Stuart, Georgian, Victorian and WW1 periods. For these pupils, who have spent so much time indoors over the past few years, these experiences will have enriched them and reminded them of the opportunities school has to offer.
Not only have our pupils been travelling to theatres, but we have had guests come to us. Year 13 Criminology students had the great pleasure of hearing from Rachelle Freegaurd MBE and Leigh Little about their careers working for Gatwick Border Force. As part of our Careers programme, pupils had the opportunity to listen to, question and discuss the career opportunities that Gatwick Border Force can offer. These pupils then visited Gatwick to see the careers in action.
This has also been our first module with our College Model in full force. It couldn’t have been implemented at a better time as now more than ever our pupils have needed the enhanced pastoral support that the College Model offers. Competitions, clubs and linear form groups are just some of the benefits we have seen in this module. Currently, our Art department is accepting pupils’ artistic interpretations of ‘Mindfulness & Spirituality’ and in addition, following on from the success of the College Football Festival, we have a College Dodgeball competition imminently. There have however been times when all colleges have put competition aside to work towards an Academy-wide goal. For example, in this module we embraced China as a culture, and immersed our pupils in language, food and the traditions of the Chinese. Our assembly time gave us the opportunity to address misconceptions surrounding diversity, our Library bought several books from Chinese authors to loan to pupils and our MFL team continued to host their Mandarin club for our language enthusiasts.
Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School
It has been great for us here at SJWMS to get back to something that resembles normality on the sports side of school. We have 20 school rugby teams, ranging from the U12G team through to the 1st XV. We have had almost 350 boys represent the school since September in a fixture against another school; the numbers and range of pupils who play is something we are incredibly proud of.
The 1st XV have done well where they compete in a tough set of matches on Saturday mornings against some of the county’s strongest sides. At the time of writing they have secured notable wins against traditionally strong schools such as Langley Park School for Boys and Kings School Canterbury amongst others.
The U14 A and B teams have recently returned from a tour to the West Country where they played three games over a long weekend against some local club sides. This was then followed by a trip to see Saracens play Bath in a Premiership game, where they were witness to some fantastic attacking rugby by Saracens, a side with lots of England internationals. This capped a memorable experience for all involved.
The development of rugby is continuing at the school as we now have a girls side to complement the netball that we currently offer. We are in the early stages of organising fixtures for the teams and it is great to see over 25 6th form girls involved and experiencing something new.
Rugby does dominate our extra-curricular provision from September to Christmas but we are also pleased to offer other sports and activities to our pupils. The Gym is open every morning and after school we have clubs running in basketball, badminton, volleyball and 6th form football where fixtures will take place after Christmas.
This term has also seen our boys and 6th form girls take part in the Medway Schools cross country championships where the team put in some superb individual performances.
Also in Terms three and four, we will see the start of our extensive hockey season with multiple teams in each year group. The 1st XI and U16s will compete in the National Cup starting in January, whilst the juniors will compete in various cup competitions.
Leigh Academy Rainham
Founders’ Day
Since opening our gates to our first ever cohort on the 1st of September, Dream, Believe, Achieve and the LEIGH Learner attributes continue to resonate around our Academy as the underlying values for all that we do at LAR. When Rehman Chisti, local MP, visited our Academy after just two weeks of being open a small group of students already spoke about these values with such passion and conviction that we were quite literally bursting with pride. As a staff body we were confident that with the warmth, clear routines and transition preparation we had undertaken with students, our year 7 would settle into life at Leigh Academy Rainham well. None of us however could have predicted just how swiftly they would flourish in their new setting.
Within our first two modules we have nurtured year 7 into a confident, well mannered and ambitious cohort who wear their uniform with pride, tell us they feel privileged to be here and show genuine compassion towards their peers. Students have been enthusiastic about joining a variety of clubs, many campaigned to be their form group’s student leaders and over 100 volunteered to support at our open events despite having only been with us 4 weeks. So far we have awarded over 9800 reward points in total, over 7000 of which have been for modelling our LEIGH learner attributes.
Our shared vision for this Academy was always clear: nurture polite, ambitious children with big dreams who experience learning beyond the classroom through co-curricular opportunities and digital technology in lessons. Our wonderful teachers and support staff have set off on this journey with our students and they are collectively leading the way to shaping what I know is going to be an exceptional educational experience for our young people.
LAR Student Leadership
On Friday 8th October Mrs Millward and Mr Smith were very pleased to hold the first ever LAR student leadership team meeting. It is amazing to witness the fantastic community spirit that students are creating here at LAR. This involved meeting with all 18 successful candidates, all of whom went through a rigorous programme of writing speeches to present to their form classes. In this meeting students reviewed and highlighted the success of our transition programme. Student leaders commented on the diversity of both the curriculum and co-curricular opportunities offered. They also raised that many students were proud to represent the school at open evening and would love more opportunities to do so throughout the year. The Student leadership team have been working together during Module 2 on multiple projects, such as an inter-form college dodgeball tournament to raise money for charity and planning LAR’s Christmas Winter Wonderland event.
Co-Curricular Offer
Our Co-Curricular offer has begun in earnest and it has been great to see so many students taking part in these activities every week. The clubs on offer throughout module 1 and 2 have included: Debate, Dungeons and Dragons, STEM, Film Club, Eco club, Textile, Chess, Global Cooking, Dance and German. In addition we have a variety of sports clubs, with badminton, football and cheerleading all proving to be highly popular.
We have had many conversations in Debate Club and have learnt and spoken about topics such as, “Social media is destroying children’s lives,” and “The voting age should be reduced to 16 years old.” This club is a fantastic opportunity for students to build confidence, learn about public speaking and to challenge their own and other views on challenging topics.
In the Photography Club, students have been digitally editing photographs using a range of creative processes including photomontage and vectorization. Students have linked their creative work to our themes of the fortnight. Our dog mentor, Brandy, has been our muse and students visually transported her around the world in our ‘live to travel, travel to live’ theme. We have recently been working with portraits of icons for Black History Month, ‘celebrating and recognising diversity’ and images for Remembrance.
In the Art Club, students have been working on a ‘Creativity for Conservation’ theme to enter the DSWF Global Canvas 2022 competition. David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) is a highly effective wildlife charity, funding key conservation projects across Africa and Asia. This year's theme for the annual children’s competition is ‘Forests of Land and Sea’. Students have identified different forests around the world and the wildlife that inhabits them as their subjects. Students decided they would like to explore watercolour painting in this module and have been practising their sketching and painting skills as we work towards a collaborative art display for the competition. The use of recycled materials is encouraged: as such, students in the Art Club and Eco Club will collaborate. We look forward to displaying the outcome in the new year.
In STEM Club students this module took part in a ‘Jungle Survival’ Event where Google Earth and a variety of interactive Google tools were used by students. The digital tools helped them to identify where in the jungle they had crash landed, where they should set up basecamp and what they could eat and drink to survive. This highly interactive and digital club activity was incredibly popular and even completed by our teachers one afternoon!
Remembrance
Mr Smith held a heartfelt Remembrance assembly with student readers for our students prior to the 2 minute silence on the 11th of November. In addition, our student leaders sold a multitude of poppies and organised an Inter-collegiate Dodgeball Event to raise money for the Poppy Appeal with the winning student team playing our brave staff team!
A number of our students also drew lovely poppies as part of their art homework and these were used by the Creative Club to produce two stunning bespoke LAR Remembrance wreaths which were laid at the cenotaph outside St Margaret's Church by students on Remembrance Sunday. We were proud to be part of this special local community event in our very first year and were the only school that had student representatives to lay the wreaths.
