LAR  NEWSLETTER 

 17/10/2025 , Module 1

Last fortnight we had a two day visit from the IBCP Consultant to meet with staff, students and governors about our preparations for leading an IBCP 6th form. This was a fantastic virtual visit in which we were able to showcase what is already in place and talk though the curriculum offer and how we will be recruiting students into our new Windsor College KS5 provision. The purpose of this visit is to share further good practice and provide additional guidance on how to continue to prepare for our authorisation visit in the new academic year, so that we have everything in place to start a successful 6th form offer for our local community. 

Hopefully your children have been coming home and talking to you about Student Leadership and the talks our candidates have made in form time over the last couple of weeks. We held our voting day on Friday 10th October and I have felt proud to celebrate our new elected student leaders. They will continue to play a key role in not only representing the academy but driving positive change as we continue to grow and listen to our students. 

This week we had our Windsor College, Sixth Form Open Evening launch event, with over 240 people coming through our doors to listen to the speeches, talk to staff about the subjects and see our fantastic new sixth form common area. We were very appreciative that students from Wilmington Academy were able to join us to talk to our students about the IB Careers Programme and share their experiences to help year 11 better understand the value of studying the IB courses. We hope that all families who attended found the evening informative and look forward to receiving applications from not only our founding cohort but also external students in Medway. 

We wish all our families are relaxing half term and will will write with academy updates before students return. 

Mrs Cramlington

Phone Calls Home

We've had an increase in students approaching staff regarding topping up parent pay and students going to an after school club or intervention. Please can we remind you all that we don't have the time or capacity to keep phoning home and chasing parents regarding these little things. We kindly ask that this is looked and discussed before your child arrives on site.

WaitLess App

We are aware that a lot of parents/guardians are struggling to get doctor's appointments so we wanted to share this app that is proving useful to get walk-in and emergency appointments.

The WaitLess app is a free mobile application designed to help patients find the least busy urgent care facilities and reduce their waiting times. It provides real-time information on waiting times, queue numbers, and travel times to various urgent care centers, allowing patients to make informed decisions about where to seek treatment. The app also offers information on available pharmacies and other non-emergency treatment options.

Cucina Spending Cap Increase

To account for the rising cost of food and school meal prices, the daily spending limit on ParentPay has now been adjusted, increasing the cap from £7 to £8.50. 

Staff at LAR recently showed off their culinary talents in a fun-filled Bake Off! The team whipped up an impressive array of sweet treats, including a beautiful lemon meringue pie, indulgent chocolate pumpkin brownies, and an eye-catching giant fox cake! The event was a delightful mix of creativity, friendly competition, and plenty of delicious desserts — a true celebration of teamwork and tasty talent!  

LAR successfully hosted its inaugural Sixth Form event, welcoming an impressive attendance of approximately 110 prospective students (240 visitors in total) from schools across Medway. The event was a significant milestone, showcasing the academy's new post-16 provision and its commitment to offering a high-quality education. 

During the second week of the October holiday our teaching staff have volunteered to run revision and coursework catch-up sessions for our Year 11 cohort in preparation for their mock examinations in November.  A full schedule of which is below and has been sent out by Mr Collins, please refer to his letter for further details.

Any year 11 child who wishes to attend can sign up using this link.  Please be aware that Art is invitation only and you will receive a separate letter if your child has been targeted for Art intervention.

Please see below the year 11 mock exam tiemtable. If you have a child in year 11 they will have received a personal timetable that is relevant to them. In addition we have sent letters home advertising our morning warm up sessions before the morning exams. Please refer to this letter for further details. 

Week 1

Week 2

Year 11 Masterclass

This module has been a successful first module for our afterschool masterclass programme.  97% of our year 11 cohort have attended a masterclass session for English, Maths or Science in Module 1 and rewards such as Amazon vouchers and chocolate have been given out every week in the raffle draw to those attending.

The schedule for our core Masterclasses will remain consistent in Module 2, starting from week 3 after the mocks to ensure a smooth continuation of learning.  However, we are excited to announce the introduction of a new Spanish Masterclass. This session will also take place on Tuesdays, running at the same time as the Science Masterclass.  The Spanish Masterclass is a targeted session and students will be specifically invited to attend.  Pupils who are not invited to the Spanish masterclass will attend Science masterclass as normal. 

• Monday: English Masterclass

• Tuesday: Science/Spanish Masterclass

• Thursday: Maths Masterclass

Please complete this Google Form to confirm your attendance at this event. 

The Leigh Academy Rainham Safeguarding Team works to promote the safety of all students. If you are concerned about a child's safety, please call the academy and ask to speak to a Designated Safeguarding Lead.