Summer Newsletter 2023
Welcome to our Leigh Summer Newsletter - Principal's introduction
Dear Parents, Carers and Students
It is with pleasure that we are once again able to share with you our summer newsletter which showcases the "exceptional opportunities" for all students at The Leigh Academy. Ofsted commented on this in the report from our recent inspection in April.
It is an excellent report that we are truly proud of; it reflects the character and ethos of our academy that “opens minds to success.”. The report captures some real highlights of life at The Leigh Academy and the excellent education provided, with a “curriculum [that] prepares pupils well for the future.” As well as the IB curriculum that develops character and IB profiles and teaches pupils to be ”resilient and respectful learners.”
Inspectors commented upon the “high quality pastoral care pupils receive means that they feel safe and happy” and the “exceptional opportunities” that we offer for all of our young people. They felt that our ‘healthy minds’ programme is “extremely well-thought-out [and] covers all the important topics” for our learners.
The opening paragraph in particular, is a pleasure to read stating that, ”Pupils are proud to be part of The Leigh Academy. They enjoy school and the friendships they develop. Bullying is rare and always followed up. The working relationships pupils have with staff are strong. Pupils enjoy their lessons and want to do their best.” I am proud that the hard work and dedication of our staff and pupils has been recognised.
The report goes on to highlight that “high expectations are embedded” and the inspectors found that “pupils learning is fun and keeps them hooked” and that “staff understand pupils’ needs. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).”
We have been busy this term, ensuring that every child is fully supported through the public examination season. Thank you to all staff who have worked with commitment to ensure every Year 11 and Year 13 student was well prepared with additional before and after school revision sessions, breakfast and warm up sessions as well as supporting students well-being through a pressured few final months. We look forward to welcoming these students and parents back in August to open their results envelope and guide them onto Post 16 studies or onto university or apprenticeship opportunities for our Year 13s.
We have also enjoyed a large number of events with trips to Normandy and Madrid, a range of sports days and competitions as well as Culture, Pride and Coronation celebrations. Within this newsletter you will also be able to read updates from every subject area, and College events and awards too.
I wish you and your families a lovely, restful summer holiday and I look forward to welcoming our students back for the new Academic Year 2023-24
Deputy Principal's Letter
It was an honour to be appointed the Deputy Principal of The Leigh Academy at the beginning of Module 6. I have been struck by the positive culture at the academy and the manner in which our students interact with their teachers, peers and the community. Our students are our proudest ambassadors and champions of the academy’s mission and vision of ‘opening minds to success’. This is something that shines through in our students' engagement with the wide range of curriculum based activities and extracurricular opportunities offered to them.
This summer’s newsletter is a fantastic reflection of this, and demonstrates the academy’s commitment to delivering a truly world class, ambitious, global curriculum to all students in Years 7 - 13. It is an exciting time to be part of the The Leigh Academy Community, with our dedicated staff striving to provide our students with high quality opportunities to learn new concepts, knowledge and skills, whilst at the same time keeping them hooked and developing a love of learning. This is something that I am delighted to see was recognised in our most recent Ofsted report in April of this year.
The 2023-24 academic year promises to take this a step further, with a range of exciting developments planned to further engage our academy’s community and their families. It has been a pleasure to meet and speak with so many of you this module, and I look forward to our continued work together next year.
