Attenborough College
Life moves fast in Attenborough College!
Welcome to our roundup of all the exciting developments, news and events that have been going on in The Leigh Academy's newest college since we published the Summer Newsletter.
Post-16 Exam Results 2022
We are proud to announce that the exam results our Year 13 students earned in summer 2022 were the best that students in The Leigh Academy have ever achieved, identifying us as having the most successful non-selective Post-16 in Leigh Academies Trust.
This success came despite the pandemic and with the return of examinations and can be attributed to exceptional hard work by Year 13 students and Post-16 teachers, incredible support from parents and expert leadership, support and guidance from the Post-16 Team.
Brand new Attenborough College facilities
As part of this summer’s extensive building works in the academy, the newly created Post-16 college, Attenborough, was given a brand new home in the centre of the academy. These new facilities include a large IT suite, a study space on the top floor of the library and a new study centre, where the Attenborough College Team is based and where students have their own, fully equipped and provisioned kitchen.
Year 12 Induction
As always, we were delighted to welcome our new cohort of Year 12 students in September and this year we had the extra pleasure of showcasing our brand new Attenborough College facilities. Students spent their first two days learning about what they can expect from their time in Post-16, picking up study tips, discovering the importance of developing their characters as well as gaining great academic qualifications, meeting the Attenborough College team and getting to know their peers. Our special guest, Dee Bleakley, returned to help students get into the Post-16 mindset and understand that they have the power to achieve anything they set their mind to. Induction was all about our desire to see our students thrive, not just survive, in Attenborough College and we have very high hopes with our new Year 12 cohort, who have made an excellent start to their journey through Post-16.
Black History Month
We were thrilled to hand over control of our Attenborough College Black History Month assembly in October to Year 13 students, Eleanor and Dash, who presented on why they felt it was so important to widen understanding of the experience of black people in the UK, share their own experiences of racism and highlight the cultural contributions made by black people throughout history. Eleanor invited her dad, Councillor Ricky Jones (who serves the ward within which the academy sits on Dartford Borough Council), to join them for the assembly and he spoke passionately and personally about his role in advocating for black communities, speaking out against racism and his own family's connection to the Windrush Generation.
The University of Kent Succeed Programme
On Friday 25th November, Beth from The University of Kent came in to speak to Year 12 students about their Succeed Programme. This excellent programme gives students, who may be undecided if university is the right choice for them, the chance to experience university life first hand during the course of Year 12. We are happy that our Post-16 students have been participating in the programme every year for the last 4 years. Beth was joined by Adam and Tanzilla, two 3rd year university students who studied at The Leigh Academy Post-16, and were lucky enough to access the programme themselves. For both of them, it was a transformational experience. We encourage all Year 12 students to apply and more information can be found by speaking to Mrs Ramic, Coordinator of Year 12, or in the post on the Attenborough Google Classroom.
University Applications are underway!
In Attenborough College, we are proud that more and more students every year aspire to a university education when they complete their Post-16 studies with us. In 2022, 80% of the Year 13 cohort went on to begin degree courses, with Law, Business, Accountancy, English Literature and Computer Science being the most popular course choices. In our current Year 13 cohort, even more students are aiming for university as their preferred next step and we encourage them to complete their applications before Christmas. They have everything they need to do so on the academy website and Mr Burton, Miss Marshall and Year 13 form tutors are all ready to help whenever they are needed. The deadline for applications is 6pm on 25th January 2023.
https://leighacademy.org.uk/welcome-to-post-16/post-18-options/
IB Evaluation Visit in Post-16
In summer 2017, the academy was authorised as an IB World School, delivering the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme, an internationally renowned study programme that sits alongside the IB’s Diploma Programme. Since then, the academy’s Post-16 has been able to very successfully deliver IB Diploma Programme courses, alongside A levels, Level 3 BTEC qualifications and the LIBF Finance course.
Every five years after authorisation, the IB sends an evaluation team into schools to assess how successfully they are delivering their programmes and guide schools with suggestions about how they can improve their provision. It is a rigorous process that requires months of preparation and a gruelling three day visit.
We hosted the academy’s first evaluation visit in November and we are proud to report that the evaluation team were thrilled with our progress, the exam results our students are getting, the quality of teaching in Post-16 lessons, the strength of our delivery of the IB Career-related Programme and the expertise in both teaching and leadership in Post-16. The evaluation team identified 19 areas of particular strength and no areas requiring improvement.
Post-16 Open Evening
On 16th November, we welcomed hundreds of prospective Post-16 students and their parents to the academy to hear presentations about our Post-16 provision, the IB Career-related Programme and the brand new T level in Education and Childcare that we will be offering from September 2023. Visitors then visited the Subject Fair, where they could meet current students and teachers for every Post-16 course we offer.
Applications for next September will remain open till next summer but Year 11 students are encouraged to get their applications in sooner rather than later by completing the Google Form that has been posted on the Year 11 Google Classroom. External applications are welcomed via the academy website, where students will be asked to complete a quick registration process before submitting their application on the Applicaa platform.
Queen Elizabeth the Second Jubilee Garden and Orchard
Since the last newsletter in the summer, IBCP students in Attenborough College have continued with their work in creating and developing a brand new garden space outside reception at the academy, often working alongside students from Milestone@The Leigh. This summer, despite the heatwave, they enjoyed a harvest of tomatoes, green beans, pumpkins, strawberries and potatoes. They learned a lot about teamwork, taking an idea from the page into actuality, gardening skills such as rotovating, fertilising, plant maintenance and watering and harvesting. They also installed two commemorative benches this summer - one in honour of Captain Sir Tom Moore and the other to remember our colleague, Sue Blackston, who was taken from us in the pandemic after 29 years of service in the academy restaurant. The next step is to plant an orchard, which will be undertaken in January, and to plant our next fruit and vegetable garden for the coming year.
Christmas in Attenborough College
Staff and students from Attenborough College celebrated Christmas with their own non-uniform day (in support of Save the Children and Bantabami) and a break time hot chocolate and treats, served by the Attenborough College team, on Friday 16th December.
Happy Christmas from everyone in Attenborough College!