Dear Parents/Carers,

All too soon the 2022/23 academy year has come to an end, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our staff, students, parents, carers, and strategic partners for helping to make the year a successful and fulfilling one. Longfield Academy continues to grow from strength to strength and I am immensely proud of all the hard work and dedication from our staff and the many opportunities we have been able to offer our students in our quest to help them ‘achieve beyond expectations’.  

Students across all year groups, 7-13, have had multiple opportunities to embark on exciting trips and educational visits throughout the academic year.  These experiences have not only broadened their perspectives on life, but they have also helped to bring the curriculum alive in most cases and thereby deepened students' understanding of some of the key curriculum ideas.  Our geographers, for example, have visited Walton-on-the-Naze, Margate, Herne Bay, Camber Sands, Dungeness and Folkestone, Stratford Olympic Park, and Ebbsfleet Regeneration Area amongst others.  The drama and English departments have taken students to the Globe and Adelphi Theatre;  BFI Southbank; Harry Potter World and many more. The art department took students to the Turner Gallery, V&A Museum, Tate Modern, and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. The PE department took students to the cyclopark, and psychology students visited the Orchard Theatre and The Freud Museum.  These are just some examples of the many opportunities students have had and for which nearly 2000 spaces had been allocated.

As usual, our Performing Arts department has delivered some exciting performances including: Snow White at christmas and the Addams Family more recently.  We have also had our informal musical concerts and our students have engaged with several events to raise money for a number of charities.  

We have also had many individual student achievements throughout the year to celebrate which makes me exceptionally proud as they are living our values of Respect, Aspiration and Care. A few of these examples are: Year 13 chemistry students participated and gained recognition in the Chemistry Olympiad. One of our students was identified as a ‘teen hero’ by the Mirror newspaper, another has raised money for charity through skydiving and we have others winning national and international competitions in boxing, motocross racing, dancing and cheerleading.

In this final module, we have enjoyed an exciting Sports Day, year 11 and 13 proms as well as celebration events to recognise and celebrate some of our most hardworking students and staff.  We are grateful to the Deputy Mayor of Dartford, Andy Lloyd, and the Mayoress for joining us at our prize evening and making the event a memorable one for students, staff and families.

Next week, we welcome most of our incoming year 7 students and their parents to our summer school where the students will be taught some of the key things they will be learning in  September as well as making new friends and getting to know the academy.  Their parents will also have the opportunity to learn more about the academy, our policies, how to support students at home, our digital strategy and meet with some of the tutors.

As we break for the summer holidays, I would like to wish our year 11 and 13 students the very best of luck for the future.  As an academy, we left no stone unturned to ensure that all students were appropriately supported for the GCSEs and A Level examinations, and I am looking forward to some excellent results in August.  Judging from the number of students who attended our taster days last week, the post-16 continues to grow and I look forward to seeing several of our year 11s back into our Outstanding sixth form. Whatever the next steps are for these students, year 11 or 13, I am confident that their futures will be bright and that the foundations we have laid will help them to contribute effectively towards our democratic society. 

I hope you all enjoy some of the well-deserved summer break and I look forward to welcoming all students back in the first week of September.

Kind regards

Dr F. Donkor