Principal's Welcome
Dear Parents and Carers
I am pleased to share with you our Spring newsletter which, as always, is packed full of stories, articles and photos showing the vast array of activities, experiences and opportunities available for our Sir Geoffrey Leigh Academy students over the last few months.
A particular highlight to read is the Physical Education and Sports page, which show the many fixtures, tournaments and championships our students have participated in this Spring, from girls and boys football, dodgeball, cross country, rugby, basketball and trampolining! There have been many individual medals won, as well as medals for the academy teams in the Leigh Academies Trust football and swimming competitions. We look forward to supporting our gymnastic team at the national Final next month. Good luck! Well done to all students who have participated and joined in with great enthusiasm. A huge thank you to all parent and carers who support these events by ensuring their child is equipped and ready to participate and those who have come to spectate and support. Particular thanks to all of the PE team, without whom these successes would not be possible.
I am also delighted to share with you all that the planning permission has been granted for the new Post 16 building. This is being fully funded by the local authority, and we are keen for the work to start over this summer; and the opening of the building for our sixth form students in the later months of 2026. This will include 10 teaching space, including two science labs, an ICT suite and T Level rooms, as well as a sixth form study space, a small refreshment servery and inside and outside social spaces.
There will be no impact on the usual running of the lessons , schedules and activities of our academy as the works take place on an area not currently in use.
We are fast approaching the public examinations, and I know how hard all Year 11 and Year 13 students (and parents!) are working to ensure they are as prepared as possible. Thank you to the teaching staff who are again providing additional revision sessions to these two year groups over the Easter break.
I wish you all and happy and peaceful break
Kind regards
Mrs Julia Collins
Principal
At the end of Module Four, I am particularly pleased to share the recent developments in Sir Geoffrey Leigh Academy’s evolution. We are working hard towards our 5-year evaluation visit for our International Baccalaureate’s (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Career Related Programme (CP). We will welcome visitors later this year to audit and inspect our provision, and we are looking forward to sharing the outcomes of this with you. This is the IB’s equivalent to school ‘Ofsted’ inspection which is a key measure of our effectiveness and will aid the development in our curriculum moving forwards. In addition to this, we are working hard to implement the full IB Diploma Programme (DP) in the near future. This is very exciting for SGLA’s curriculum offer, where Post 16 has a pathway for all from T levels, BTECs, IBCP and IBDP. We are also looking forward to seeing the first bricks of the new Post 16 building due to be laid very soon where we can boast a world class curriculum for the future within a state of the art Post 16 centre.
The IB Learner Profile is at the heart of learning at SGLA, and it is fitting that I again ‘reflect’ upon the cultural capital that our wider curriculum offers our students. Recently, students have been working towards their Online Safety Award. We have hosted visitors from the Refocus group and students have been challenged to think about issues they could face in society, and importantly how they can be safe and responsible in the community. As ‘Inquirers’, students have enjoyed exploring Careers’ Month and spending time with visitors from the Royal Air force thinking about Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. We have celebrated World Book Day; Ramadan; Lent; and International Women’s Day, to mention a few. The IB Learner Profile also features the attribute of ‘principled’ and we are proud to have been part of the Big Dartford Litter Pick. At the end of this module, we are also pleased to advocate Golden Rule Day where we ‘Treat others and the planet how you want to be treated yourself’.
Author:
Mr Stephenson - Deputy Principal