Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to start by thanking you for your patience and resilience this week. It has been a challenging few days regarding our local infrastructure, but I am pleased to share that we have managed to successfully avoid a school closure despite the significant challenges posed by another burst water main on Maidstone Road.

Apologies to those families who attended our Year 10 parents evening yesterday; we had been informed that the road was due to reopen in time for the event, but unfortunately, this did not materialise, meaning access remained restricted to the Gedges Hill (Matfield) end only. Despite this, Year 10 attendance at the parents evening was over 85%, which is fantastic. Thank you to all of our parents and carers for your support. Regarding today’s travel, we have been told that the road should be open by the end of the day. However, in the case that it is not, our team will cover the end of the road again to ensure safe access for those students who get the 215, 205, and 206 buses.

It has been a particularly active day for a number of our Year 8 and 9 students who have been out experiencing rock climbing for the first time with Mr Kirkpatrick at Chimera climbing centre in tunbridge Wells.  This kind of experience is so valuable for building resilience and problem-solving skills outside of the traditional classroom setting, we can't wait to hear about how they have got on, having been there with my children, I am keen to know if they have braved an attempt at the tightrope challenge! 

In addition to our trips, we have welcomed Jack Tebbut from Charlton Athletic back into the academy this week. Jack visited last week to deliver a careers talk, but he specifically asked to return because he thought our students were so brilliant. He is currently doing some intervention work with a group of students regarding their aspirations and dreams for the future, supporting them in breaking down what they may believe are barriers to achieving them.

We are also really pleased to welcome back Miss Alldridge from her maternity leave. She is returning to us in a new capacity as Lead Practitioner - Inclusion and SEN. Having recently completed her SENCO qualification, her new role will involve supporting Miss Fowler in continuing to ensure that adaptive practice is embedded throughout the academy. Miss Alldridge has always been celebrated for her ability to do this and we are delighted to have her back with us.

In the classroom, our Year 11 students have been continuing with their preparation for the final examinations. This week, they have undertaken ‘Big Write’ practices in English to support them in building the necessary stamina for writing during the examination periods. To further support their progress, we are launching Year 11 incentives for attendance at P6 and intervention lessons. There are Nando's vouchers, Amazon vouchers and more up for grabs for those who attend the most!

I have also spent time looking at student books this week and I am really pleased to see our strategy of students carrying out self-reflection tasks in lessons in a purple pen to show their progress. When I have visited lessons, students are really confident in explaining their work to me. I was in the science department this morning where Year 10 students were able to explain the practical they were completing with Mr Jegede. Furthermore, our Year 8 students have been completing their MYP assessment D; I saw some fantastic examples of extended writing during these sessions which demonstrated great depth of thought.  

We do still have some students who do not have all of the equipment they need to be successful in their lessons, please do check your child's pencil case and ensure they have at least 2 x black pens, pencils, a highlighter and their scientific calculator.  If there are any challenges in providing this then please make contact with your college office and remind your child that they are able to visit our Ready to Learn gate which is open every morning from 8am - 8:45.

Thank you for your ongoing support of the academy. I wish you all a restful weekend.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Brooks - Principal