Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope this email finds you and your families well. This is a far shorter than usual update as one thing has dominated our week. On Monday we received the call from OFSTED that the academy would be inspected on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, following an inspection we are restricted from the sharing of information and outcomes from that inspection until the quality assurance processes have taken place.
What I am able to say is that as part of a usual inspection inspectors will observe lessons and meet with students and staff. Our students were exemplary in their conduct as usual and we are incredibly proud of how they managed themselves from the interactions and engagement in class. We know this is usual for them but it is always so lovely to see them wow any visitors.
I would also like to thank parents and carers for responding to the OFSTED parent view questionnaire, traditionally responses can be very low in secondary schools. Not the case for us, we had a very high response rate and those comments and figures were seen by the inspection team. Thank you for your contribution, the results were overwhelmingly positive and we are incredibly grateful.
Overall, we are very pleased with how Tuesday and Wednesday went and look forward to sharing the final report with you as soon as we are able to. These things can take a number of weeks so please rest assured it will be with you as soon as it is published.
This week we took our year 10 Design and Technology pupils to IKEA to explore sustainable furniture and how to develop innovative ideas around design and construction. Pupils have been hands-on in exploring “good design” testing and trialing the products.
Year 13 also geographers spent the afternoon on the beaches of Hastings and Bexhill and made various measurements based on hypotheses like whether the sediment on one side of the side groyne is higher due to longshore drift. This forms part of their assessed fieldwork and data was recorded for future analysis. Following the coastal fieldwork, the students enjoyed a meal in Picasso.
Following dinner, we went to the De La Warr Pavilion to listen to a lecture from Sir Ranulp Fiennes, often described as the world’s most famous living explorer. A main part of the illustrated talk was of his trip to circumnavigate the world taking in both Poles and only using foot and boat. The inspirational talk referenced geographical issues such as climate change and Antarctica as well as the importance of A levels and his own hero – Sir Ernest Shackleton.
Year 11 and 12 art student students went to the Horniman museum in London into the butterfly house and took images of the wing patterns and textures to inspire their current project based on transformation. They also went into the main museum and the students were inspired by the cultural artefacts which may inform their future projects. They were all fantastic at representing the school with their behaviour.
Finally, my continued thanks go to parents and carers for your support both this week and over time. If we can navigate COVID, Challenge Partners, International Baccalaureate verification as a world school, many other reviews and now OFSTED all within the last six to twelve months with a smile on our face, it is clear something is going really very well and we are proud to have you all as a part of it. Whatever next!?
Have a wonderful weekend.
Yours sincerely,
Mr W Monk
Principal
