Dear Parents / Carers
I hope this letter finds you well following our recent half term break. We are delighted with the manner in which our students have returned for Module Two, capitalising on their excellent start from Module One and adapting to enhanced systems at the academy diligently.
We are delighted to announce that our professionally designed, purpose-built, sixth form study centre is fully functioning. All sixth form students have full access to a business standard, dedicated study space to utilise their independent study time effectively.
All students at the academy have been issued with their own Chromebook device at no cost to families. We are delighted to see our students using their devices effectively to enhance their learning across their lessons. Our transformation in becoming a google school and digital curriculum has improved access to curriculum for all of our students.
The academy is also a candidate International Baccalaureate (IB) World School. We are delivering the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) to all students in Year 7, 8 and 9. The IB learner profile is embedded into our curriculum delivery and throughout each aspect of the academy, which instil our core values. Students have provided us with very positive feedback regarding the digital curriculum alongside the IB MYP programme.
Our small school model is fully implemented, with college staff building excellent relationships with their students and families to provide outstanding pastoral care. If you need to contact the academy at any stage, please contact the college team directly who will be able to support you and your child.
As you know we held a series of information evenings for parents and carers during Module One. We were pleased at the engagement with these events and have more planned to support all stakeholders moving forward. The events provide parents/carers and students with vital information and also with the opportunity to speak with staff to give feedback which has been exceptionally positive and valuable to us.
There is a comprehensive range of extra curricular activities and clubs on offer for students to takepart in during lunchtime. We have updated our academy website and will continue to provide key information via our academy website. We encourage you to look at our academy website regularly for key information including curriculum / subject information for all year groups.
We are pleased to inform you that our Year 11 and Year 13 students are preparing well for their final examinations. To support them further, we have planned their first round of mock examinations to take place w/c 25th November. All staff are supporting students with their revision, key examination techniques, helping them to build resilience and support their well being. Please continue to support your child at home to consolidate their learning so they are well prepared for their upcoming mock examinations. We already have reported the progress of Year 11 and 13 students to parents and we will report on the progress of all our students by January 2025.
We have issued more than 16000 IB Merit points, averaging around 20 IB Merit points per student, celebrating students’ effort and hard work across their lessons. We have received more than 350 nominations for Hot Chocolate Friday, with more than 35 students enjoying Hot Chocolate with myself and other staff. Our staff have also issued more than 1500 reward certificates acknowledging students’ achievement and progress across different subject areas. These are just a few examples of celebrating excellence and hard work, to recognise student achievement and supplement our positive commendations offered on a daily basis. We are extremely proud of our students who consistently demonstrate our core values of being Ready, Responsible and Respectful as they continue to engage in their learning to make excellent progress in a disruption free learning environment.
I would also like to remind parents that we are now fully using MCAS (My Child At School) platform to provide all key communication. Thank you to the vast majority of parents who already have downloaded the MCAS app, we would kindly ask all parents to ensure that they have access to the MCAS app. This will ensure that communication between our academy and home is as efficient as possible. This new platform allows you to stay up to date with all the important events and updates concerning your child.
Improving attendance and punctuality to all lessons remains our priority and we are grateful to all parents for their support with this. We have a dedicated attendance team, working closely and collaboratively with students / families to ensure that appropriate support is provided to improve attendance. We are pleased to see the progress and our attendance is already better than last academic year. However, we are not complacent and will continue to work with all our stakeholders to achieve our goal of 96% attendance.
As always we are grateful for your continued support in ensuring your child remains happy and makes excellent progress at Leigh Academy Hugh Christie.
Yours Sincerely,
Palak Shah
P Shah
Principal
