King's Lynn Academy - Summer 2018

NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2018

Success in all we do Summer 2018.indd 1

05/07/2018 22:30

PRINCIPAL’S WELCOME And so another year comes to an end! It has been an incredibly busy year for all of us, and I think a good one for KLA. Over the course of the past year we have had four visits from senior Ofsted inspectors, who have every time agreed that the school continues to improve. I sent to all parents a copy of our most recent inspection, which took place in June, and I hope everyone had a chance to read it. I don’t want to go into it in detail here, but I would like to emphasise a particular paragraph in there; “High-quality care and support for pupils underpin the school’s approach to engaging pupils in learning, and encouraging their participation. Staff go out of their way to welcome pupils daily, help them to deal with personal issues affecting them, and liaise with their parents and carers.

“The school remains a calm, purposeful place to be. The large majority of pupils behave well, and are polite and respectful. They say that behaviour has improved significantly, and understand the procedures used by staff to manage behaviour. They feel that these procedures work for most pupils, but not for a small minority who regularly spoil lessons by messing about.”

I believe that this extract sums up our school perfectly. Our staff do indeed go out of their way to look after our pupils, and I am hugely grateful to them all for that.

The key message from the report is that a handful of pupils’ selfish behaviour spoils learning for others too often. This simply cannot continue. It is not fair on staff who work so hard to prepare great lessons for all pupils, and it is not fair on the huge majority of pupils who come to school day after day and try to learn to get the very best outcomes they can for themselves.

So from September we need a new approach. Firstly we will open Forward Step, our new on site specialist inclusion base for KLA pupils with challenging behaviour. This will remove these pupils from the main school and stop them from disrupting others’ learning. Forward Step will be an entirely separate provision from the main school at KLA, and pupils working in Forward Step will not be in lessons, breaks or lunchtimes in the main school building. In addition, we will be renewing our messages about having high expectations of all KLA pupils, including timekeeping, equipment, respect and working hard to achieve. We will be reviewing our procedures for the Reflection Room and introducing a new Isolation Room (which we intend to use as an internal alternative to sending pupils home for a temporary exclusion).

As a result of these changes we expect to see an immediate eradication in disruptive behaviour by those few pupils still intent on causing such irritation, and the overwhelming majority of hardworking, enthusiastic pupils will be able to make even better progress than they have so far; which I know is something almost all of our parents will welcome.

Throughout this newsletter are stories and articles celebrating the success of our school – these are indeed very exciting times. We have a stable, fully-staffed team of specialists ready to start the new year in September – a mixture of both familiar faces and new ones; Year 7 is oversubscribed, with 200 new pupils arriving. Results are improving and our school is a happy, relaxed and friendly place. I am very proud to have been asked to lead KLA, and even more so to have committed my future to the school permanently. Our ambition is simple – to be the best school we possibly can be for our brilliant students, staff and parents. Thank you for your help over the past year as we work towards making this our reality.

Alan Fletcher Principal

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05/07/2018 22:30

MESSAGE FROM VICE PRINCIPAL Dear parents and carers, I am delighted to have started as Vice Principal at King’s Lynn Academy. It is a privilege for me to support all the excellent work Alan Fletcher and the staff team have already done and I hope I can provide a similar level of dedication and contribution in this exciting role.

The post at KLA stood out to me because it is a school that shares my own values.

I am fully committed to an approach in which students are known and cared for as individuals. I hold high standards for all students I work with, yet also expect them to enjoy their time at school and develop a sense of who they are in a community in which they know they are valued. Everything I have seen at KLA indicates that these values are shared by staff, students and governors. We clearly have a job to do in moving KLA to a much improved school, but I am confident that this can be done at the same time as retaining the great things that make KLA what it is.

I am an experienced Vice Principal and teacher of Physical Education. For the last three years I have been Vice Principal at Cromer Academy, which in 2017 Ofsted judged to be ‘Good’ with ‘Outstanding leadership and behaviour’ and the school is now in the top 5% of schools nationally for student progress. The experiences I have had in the different schools that I have worked in have shown me that there is no one size fits all approach to school leadership. Over the forthcoming weeks I will be meeting with all staff and students to locate KLA’s areas of strength and areas for development.

In the meantime, please feel free to email me at phil.bugg@kla.eastern-mat.co.uk with any concerns or queries and I look forward to working with you over the forthcoming years.

Best wishes, Phil Bugg Vice Principal

MESSAGE FROM ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL I have been working part-time at KLA since the February half term and I am very excited to be starting my full time role. I am the Assistant Principal for Key Stage 4.

My initial focus had been on preparing Year 11 for their exams but now I oversee the work of Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11.

I am primarily responsible for improving academic outcomes and raising standards.

One of my functions is to supervise and coordinate the crucial student welfare work of the Heads of Year to ensure that there are no barriers to achievement and that all students ultimately achieve their potential. I am also the line manager for the Mathematics, Business Studies and Computing departments.

I have a responsibility to make sure that progress is tracked accurately and that assessments are appropriate. Leading on from this, I work with the heads of department to coordinate the additional learning opportunities that take place before school, after school and during school holidays.

I still teach (Business Studies) and my classes will always be a priority.

I am very fortunate that I get to work with skilled, committed colleagues and with students with limitless potential and I hope to meet as many families as possible over the next year.

My email address should you need it is robert.mclean@kla.eastern-mat.co.uk Best wishes, Rob McLean Assistant Principal

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05/07/2018 22:30

HEADS OF YEAR Debbie Germaney - Year 7 I am Mrs Germaney and I will be Head of Year 7 from September 2018. Many of you already know me from my time as Head of Vancouver and Nelson house or more recently as Head of Key Stage 3. I am very much looking forward to working with Year 7, I am excited to work closer with the students with only having one year group to focus on.

Our transition programme has gone from strength to strength over the last 2 years with our numbers now taking us to full capacity for Year 7 2018. Miss Tea (Assistant Principal, Head of Key Stage 3) and I work very closely together ensuring all students have support and guidance throughout their time in Year 7.

My expectations are high for all students, not just Year 7! I will be monitoring attendance, timekeeping, uniform and how students conduct themselves around the Academy as well as many other things. September brings the small task of me having to remember over 200 new names and all of the information that comes with each student. This is the part of my role I enjoy the most, getting to know students and their families and forming good working relationships.

I ask that all families support the Academy, with our expectations, rules and procedures.

Alongside Miss Tea and all of the Year 7 form tutors we will do our best to see that all students are happy, safe and reaching their full potential.

Amy Crowe - Year 8 My name is Miss Crowe and I will be the new Head of Year for Year 8. Previously at KLA, I have worked as a cover supervisor and teaching assistant. I have thoroughly enjoyed working at our school and am very excited to progress into my new role as a Head of Year.

As the Year 8 Head of Year, I will be closely monitoring behaviour, attendance and uniform, but also celebrating successes and accomplishments within our year group, rewarding those students who consistently work well. It is very important that Year 8 students understand our high expectations for behaviour (both in the classroom and outside of the classroom) and maintaining a positive learning environment where every student can strive to reach their potential. I will be visiting lessons to keep track on how well students are working within the classroom and ensure that students are working to the best of their ability, arriving to their lessons on time and conducting themselves in a focused and engaged manner.

Within the Year 8 academic year, students are required to choose their GCSE options. I will be supporting students with these important decisions and holding the Year 8 options evening.

The Year 8 options evening provides an opportunity for students and parents to speak with teachers about the curriculums involved within their subjects and can provide valuable information to support with the decision making process.

I am very lucky to be able to work with such a fantastic group of students and I am very much looking forward to being the Year 8 Head of Year.

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05/07/2018 22:30

Emma Mann - Year 9 I have previously worked at KLA as a teaching assistant and know the students fairly well. However, in my new role as Head of Year 9, I am very much looking forward to working closely with them all as a year group.

As Head of Year 9, I will be looking forward to celebrating students successes both in and out of school and rewarding those who work well consistently. I will be monitoring lessons and encouraging the students to achieve to be the best they can and reinforcing rules and expectations for KLA and as their Head of Year. I will be closely monitoring behaviour, uniform and attendance to make sure the students are meeting the expected academy requirements.

I will be guiding them as they embark on their first year in Key Stage 4 as their journey towards their GCSE’s begins. I will support them individually as they progress through Year 9. I will be holding parents’ evenings to ensure both students and parents have the opportunity to liaise with me regarding any concerns they have.

I am really looking forward to working with a fantastic group and being their Head of Year.

Helen McGivern - Year 10 Hi, my name is Ms McGivern and I’m currently The Power Learning Supervisor at King Edward VII Academy, King’s Lynn. I am joining KLA as the new Head of Year 10, and I’m very much looking forward to joining team KLA. In my current role I support students to always achieve their maximum potential, by encouraging them, working with them, and listening to them, to overcome each child’s individual learning barriers.

What I hope I will bring is empathy, care, compassion, and encouragement which I feel will help the students develop and grow. Success for me is when I can see that each student feels safe and supported in our learning environment, enabling them to thrive. I thoroughly enjoy working with young people and helping them to develop and discover their own skills.

In previous roles I encouraged and supported students to achieve and maintain good levels of behaviour, attendance and academic progress. I have worked well with parents, and am a great believer in strong parent and school relationships.

I am very much looking forward to this new challenge and working with the students, parents and the great team KLA. I hope to be easily approachable, so please feel free to contact me, if you need to. I look forward to meeting you all in due course and having a successful year together.

Bridie Defty - Year 11 Many of you will already know me but I am just letting you know that as from September my role will change.

I will no longer be Head of Key Stage 4 covering Years 9, 10 and 11, my focus will be Year 11.

One reason for this is the ever growing number of students at the Academy and our commitment to supporting and knowing every child.

I would like to welcome Ms McGivern who will be Head of Year 10 and Mrs Mann for Year 9. I am confident you will give them the same support and engagement you have given to me.

I will be working alongside Mr McLean, Assistant Principal for Key Stage 4 to support and ensure all our students achieve their full potential.

Although I will no longer be head of those year groups I will, as all members of staff do, be available to all students if needed. I believe that by working as a team we will be successful.

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05/07/2018 22:31

PE & SCHOOL SPORT P Athletics

West Norfolk Fishing Competition

On Friday 18th May 2018, KLA selected girls and boys from years 7, 8, 9 and 10 to take part in the West Norfolk athletics competition at Lynnsport.

The event took place from 1:00 – 6:00pm. The event was a great success and an enjoyable experience for all students to be able to compete in their chosen event. We had some fantastic individual achievements, where these students will be selected to represent the West on Tuesday 19th June 2018 at the Norfolk athletics competition at UEA Sports Park. Well done to all the students that took part in both days and represented their school or West. We wish Ziggy (10) and Erica Charters (8) all the best for the Norfolk Games.

On Monday 14th May three pupils from King’s Lynn Academy took part in the annual West Norfolk fishing competition. The pupils were competing against six other teams to gain a place at the county championships. The competition was held at Narborough lakes with the competition being against some very good anglers. After 2 hours fishing King’s Lynn Academy managed to secure third place narrowly missing out on a place at the county championships.

Schools from West Norfolk have won the county championships for the past few years so the level of competition was always going to be high. Cameron Reed fished exceptionally well and came second individually with a total weight of fish over 33lbs!

Olympics This year the whole school will take part in their houses during Monday 9th July to Thursday 12th July in the KLA Olympics. Students will take part in a variety of events ranging from football, netball, rounders, dodgeball and athletics, competitive and fun events. A year group will take part in the events each day. On the Friday we have our local feeder primary schools bringing their year 5 & 6 students to take part in the Primary KLA Olympics to finish the week off. During this event there will be several of our GCSE PE students showing their leadership skills to organise and run the activities. We look forward to see who the winning house will be this year. Vancouver will need to defend their title.

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05/07/2018 22:31

T PE & SCHOOL SPORT Summer Football Training

KLA Sporting Stars

During the Summer term, Mr Walpole has been delivering Summer world cup themed football training sessions, to get ahead of the competition in September. The training sessions have been based around the world cup football teams developing a range of ball skills to improve individual and team performances. All sessions are conducted in a highly focused environment with the emphasis on individual skill development through a series of technical skills & drills using innovative coaching techniques.

Topics include ball control, skills, moves, playing with both feet and ball manipulation. The aim is not for the student to simply be able to perform the techniques in practice - but to be able to perform the technique at full speed in a game situation.

Well done to Richard Newell, below, who had 5 days in Denmark playing football for Norwich City U16 Elite. He was fortunate enough to be selected for a squad of 12 players to represent the club in the prestigious Norhalne Cup Tournament. 515 teams from a number of different countries took part in various age groups up to age 17.

Clubs & Activities It has been a very busy and successful year for the KLA PE dept with clubs running all year in a variety of activities, organising many tournaments with over 8 local high schools attending to allow maximum participation and weekly fixtures in football, basketball, netball, rounders, cricket, tennis, athletics and rugby.

Well done to all the students that got themselves involved in after school activities and represented the school in fixtures. You do yourself and the school proud.

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Summa Bygrave took part in the Norfolk U14 Netball trials in Norwich in May. Summa was successful in making the squad out of over 100 girls. We are really proud of your achievement and look forward to your successful pathway in the future.

New Teacher - Mr Walpole As a department we are delighted to announce Mr Walpole will be joining the team. Mr Walpole started KLA after May half term and has hit the ground running. We are really looking forward to pushing the PE department forward.

Mr Walpole has many specialisms but will be focusing mainly on developing football at KLA.

05/07/2018 22:31

KS3 ROUND-UP The end of another academic year has arrived! It always amazes me how quickly each year passes but it has been a great one again filled with fun and learning!

I have been very busy working with Miss Tea on the Year 6 transitions recently and have been very pleased with the students in KS3. They have been super helpful and have represented themselves and the Academy very well whenever we have had visitors.

Year 7 - 10 students have been taking their exams over the last few weeks, this is a great way to get the younger students prepared for the big Year 11 exams.

The Year 7 & 8 students have done very well and have all worked hard for their results. The Year 8 students have all had their interviews for the College of West Anglia - well done to the students that secured a place on their chosen course.

We have lots of changes coming in September and one of the biggest is our new Heads of Year positions. I will remain with the Year 7 students whilst Miss Crowe will take over the Year 8’s and Mrs Mann will take on the Year 9’s.

I would like to wish them luck and offer any support I can to help them take on their new roles!

Bring on the new academic year, see you in September!

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05/07/2018 22:31

KS4 ROUND-UP It never fails to amaze me how quickly each academic year passes.

Our students are fantastic both in and out of school. They are supportive of each other, committed to their studies and willing to go the extra mile to succeed.

We also celebrate with them their achievements out of school. To my knowledge this year we have had Richard Newell, left, who played in Denmark representing the Norwich City Under 16 Elite.

Summer Rose, right, who has been offered a scholarship at Starquest Performers College and has also danced with the English Youth Ballet.

Abigail Mason-Brown, Sophie Brown and Charlie Gray (right) and Maisie Hancock (left) who won multiple medals at the Kuk Sool Won 2018 Scottish tournament and masters exhibition in Motherwell.

Isabella Thurnell, right, for her continued success at clay pigeon shooting competitions and events.

Year 11 students left us in June. We held a final assembly for them presenting them with rewards and certificates. Whilst it was a little sad there was much fun and laughter. During the assembly, performing their last task as Head Boy and Girl, Lewis and Maisie presented a cheque for over ÂŁ800 to the charity Red Wellies.

The final award was for Student of the Year. Form tutors spoke glowingly about students they had nominated. All would have been worthy winners but a choice had to be made, the winner was:

July was prom season and how they dazzled. They appear no longer children but are the young men and women of the future. We all wish them every success as they finish this stage of their journey and move on to the next with all it holds for them.

As you may be aware my role will be changing next year. I will be Head of Year 11 instead of Years 9, 10 and 11 so I would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents/carers for their support throughout the year.

I hope you all have a wonderful summer.

Mrs Defty

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05/07/2018 22:31

HOMEWORK MATTERS I am delighted that this report enables me to share with you the many successes we have had with homework this year at KLA. I am pleased to be able to discuss the exciting plans that are being put into place as we speak to continue improving homework and move it forwards at KLA. At the start of this year I was tasked with the challenge of looking into the culture of homework at KLA and the majority of my work this year has focused on making sure that homework is being consistently set and assessed and that students are consistently submitting the tasks they have worked hard to complete. The introduction of the homework timetable and the greater use of SMHW has helped this. Both teachers and parents are now using homework and SHMW to enhance our student’s learning experience.

This year homework has definitely been a bigger part of the conversation at KLA. I am really pleased the weekly messages sent via parent mail has kept parents firmly in the loop regarding how much study their child is doing away from the classroom. A massive thankyou to Miss Adcock and Miss Westbury for relentlessly sending these message each week. This contact has also enabled parents to let us know about improvements we could make.

The comments by some parents have been invaluable in reviewing how homework is used and how it could improve.

Some of the most recent feedback has led to some new exciting homework projects which are currently being put into place.

The early stages of this work will enable our EAL students and a group of underachieving Year 10 boys to access a differentiated resource on SMHW which is designed to support them in completing homework more consistently and independently. I am confident that the impact of these ideas will support making these resources available to all students at KLA as soon as possible.

We will also be building on the great work the pupil premium base have already done at the daily homework club by changing how we identify and support the students who are consistently not submitting homework. Of course we will also be progressing how we celebrate those students who are consistently getting it right too.

Overall I am pleased with the progress homework has made this year at KLA. There are many positives to celebrate and some great areas of improvement to focus on. I do not think I have shifted the culture of homework at KLA yet, but I do believe I have given a firm nudge in the right direction!

I would just like to personally thank the teachers, students and support staff for all of the time and effort they have given homework this year and I look forward to seeing the impact of the next steps.

Have a great summer break.

Mr Endersby

This year I asked two questions of our homework approach; “Are we setting homework?” and “Are students doing homework”? The new projects ask a different question; “What is the quality of our homework?” and “Is homework assessable to all?”

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05/07/2018 22:31

We had a whole school assembly to celebrate the end of term and to present our final rewards. We were very lucky this year to welcome a visitor to KLA - the Easter bunny! Mrs Westbury presented the staff blazer badge winners who had been nominated by the students. The comments from the students about these colleagues were lovely to hear.

REWARDS

Our last week of the spring term was a very exciting and busy one for rewards.

We had so many things to celebrate - our blazer badge winners and the students who received highly commended certificates for their efforts throughout the term. The High Street vouchers were awarded as follows to the students in the top 100 and the presentation of the behaviour and attendance trophies.

The number of reward points from each year group over the last half term were Year 11 1,753 points, Year 10 3,383 points, Year 9 5,312 points, Year 7 8,037 points and in 1st place Year 8 with 8,184 points.

Since September 45,971 points have been awarded.

4 students were nominated to receive the Endeavour trophy - Tia BeneferGoodburn and Charlie Gray from Year 11, Warren Self Year 7 and Joshua Cook Year 8. The winner was Charlie Gray. Well done Charlie!

Finally with the help of our student commissioners we were ready for the last reward. The top 100 students names flashed up on the board. Our bunny rabbit guest picked out a bingo ball number and the winner was revealed - the winner of the laptop notebook was Charlotte Marks Year 9, a very deserving winner.

Mrs Thomas

175

NON-SCHOOL

DAYS FOR HOLIDAYS,

ATTENDANCE

MATTERS ON TIME. FIRST TIME.

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£60

F I X E D F I N E

PER CHILD PER PARENT FOR UNAUTHORISED HOLIDAY

STUDENTS WITH GOOD ATTENDANCE

It is essential for every student that their school attendance is good and that they make the best of their time at KLA.

158

With your support and our expertise we will shape our students into conscientious, enterprising young people with every opportunity before them.

11 FAMILIES

OUTINGS + APPOINTMENTS

363

With good attendance, learning really does have no limits!

O F

T H O S E

H AV E 1 0 0 % ATTENDANCE

FAST-TRACKED TO PROSECUTION

FOR NON-ATTENDANCE

ATTENDANCE

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IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT ALL STUDENTS HAVE 95%+ ATTENDANCE

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05/07/2018 22:31

DUKE OF EDINBURGH First of all, congratulations to Hollie Castle, Abbie Cubitt, Aimee Eracleous, Ben Lanham, Alisha Macey, Daisy Patnell, Rachael Poll, Kaitlyn Salmons and Macaulay Wedge for completing their Bronze practice and assessed expeditions. These students faced some gruelling weather at times, but showed impressive resilience and perseverance, and kept their spirits high with endless singing, and games of Uno back at camp! It was an absolute pleasure to see these students begin their Duke of Edinburgh journey.

Secondly, a huge well done to Callum Bentley, Kyle Berry, Hannah Eke, Andrew Fitzgerald, Michael Haslam, Alfie Holman, Richard Newell, Bradley Proctor, Alex Smith, Lennon Wardale and Reuben Webster for completing their Silver expeditions. The Lake District can be a huge challenge, but our Silver candidates showed fantastic teamwork skills, tackling some tricky navigation and lots of hills!

Of course, one of the most impressive parts of the Duke of Edinburgh Award is the extra-curricular activities that candidates take on. This year, our students have challenged themselves by taking on various skills, sports and voluntary placements. Just a few of these include: archery, cooking, volunteering for the Cats’ Protection, piano, art, tap dancing, performing arts, ballet, parkrun, football coaching, woodwork, motor sports, basketball, sports officiating and volunteering at a local nursery school.

Without a doubt, the skills our students develop throughout these expeditions and extra-curricular activities will provide them with the additional experience, social skills and perseverance which is so vital in the wider world.

On 17 May Miss Drewery was invited to Buckingham Palace to receive her Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. On a lovely, sunny morning in the grounds of the palace she was presented with her medal by HRH the Duke of Wessex. The award was a culmination of 5 years hard work and there were a host of celebrities on hand to help her celebrate, including Alexandra Burke and Tom Fletcher.

Well done Miss Drewery!

The benefits of taking on the DofE challenge For the past seven decades, the Duke of Edinburgh Award has inspired and transformed the lives of millions of young people from all walks of life. From volunteering to physical activities, life skills to expeditions, achieving a DofE Award is a passport to a brighter future, and is hugely valued by employers and universities. The DofE has a positive impact on young people’s lives, in terms of their personal development and employability, and on wider society, from charities gaining active and engaged volunteers to businesses hiring work-ready recruits.

Nationally, the incredible impact of the DofE Award can be seen in the survey statistics below: • 90% of young people said doing their DofE has given them opportunities to help others • 82% noted their DofE has made them want to continue with volunteering / voluntary activities • 62% feel that doing their DofE has helped them make a positive difference to their local community • 74% of young people said they developed self-esteem • 64% feel that as a result of DofE they are better at sport or physical activity • 74% of young people said it allowed them to try new activities they would never have tried before • 71% of young people identified improved self-belief At KLA, it is my ambition to get as many of our young people involved with this fantastic programme as possible, to give them the best opportunities in life and to develop even stronger links with our local community. If you have any queries about the DofE at KLA (available for our new Year 9’s in September), please contact Miss Poll.

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05/07/2018 22:31

JADE WINDLEY DAY Last week KLA were delighted to welcome Jade Windley back to spend two days working with two groups of our Year 10 students. Both days enabled our students to learn about how Jade made it to the dizzy heights of British number 3 in tennis, the challenges she faced and how she worked hard to overcome them.

The students were introduced to five key skills and enjoyed a combination of classroom and physical activities which enabled them to put these skills to the test.

Jade is a retired professional tennis player who, as well as representing Great Britain at the Commonwealth Games in India, has also played both women’s singles and doubles at Wimbledon.

Jade shared with the students just how incredibly hard she had to work to achieve her goals. She juggled her school work with playing tennis across the world and fought back from serious injury to reach the top. Jade’s story is inspiring and precisely why KLA were happy to welcome her back this year.

The students’ clearly benefitted from taking part in the day of activities which was fantastic to see. It was brilliant to watch our students playing a memory

name game, and trying to shoot bean bags into a bucket as the rest of the group created different atmospheres of cheering, silence and booing to mimic working under pressure.

Additionally seeing the students working in teams to complete the “Cube” challenge and individually rallying with Jade during the “tennis master class” was great too. One student in particular enjoyed the session so much that they stayed behind during their lunch time to play a one-on-one match with Jade before finding me in their own time just to say “thanks for today sir that was awesome!”

I want to personally thank all of the students who took part; you represented KLA and yourselves brilliantly, Jade and the Youth Sport Trust for another great two days and also Miss Culley, Mrs Prevett and Mrs Thomas for their support in organising the day. I am already looking forward to seeing Jade at the same time next year when she will being working with a new group of our students.

Mr Endersby

TECHNOLOGY VISIT RAF MARHAM The Technology department took 9 students from Year 9 to RAF Marham to take part in the RAF 100 STEM conference.

STEM is an initiative to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

It was an interesting day and introduced the students to some of the technology used by the RAF and BAE Systems.

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Schools rotated around 18 different stands that showcased STEM in action at RAF Marham. Many of these stands involved ‘hands-on’ experiences and our students were enthusiastic participants.

We also tested the flying characteristics of our balsa-wood model aircraft. We didn’t win first prize but didn’t disgrace ourselves either!

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STUDENT COMMISSION Once again our Student Commission are working hard as usual, taking part in their key roles around the school. We are so proud of the work they do and elements such as the Learning Walks are a vital part of the continued development of their school. The commission have always made it their mission to have an impact on the things that really matter in their school, such as Teaching and Learning so it has been fantastic to see this continue this year. We have also recently recruited 26 new commissioners, mainly from Year 7 who are already doing a fantastic job. This now takes the number of students involved in the Student Commission to over a hundred – what a fantastic position to be in!

HEAD BOY & HEAD GIRL Firstly, we would like to say a big “thank you” to Maisie Hancock and Lewis Dixon for their fantastic work as Head Girl and Head Boy over the last 12 months. They have been an asset to the school, always prepared to put themselves forward and out of their comfort zones for the benefit of their school. They have made speeches at events, met visitors and even featured on the radio. The biggest sign of their commitment was them being prepared to remain in school after exams to meet with Simon Rowe and promote their school. Well done and good luck to them both in the Summer.

Now that Maisie and Lewis have left us, we are now recruiting for our next Head Girl and Head Boy. By the time this newsletter has gone to print they will have been chosen through a whole-school election. This year we have 5 brilliant candidates: Joshua Barrett and Frank Wilmerson for Head Boy and Jessica Fowl, Sophie Page and Lucy White for Head Girl. To reach the shortlist they had an interview with Mrs Westbury, Mr Frammingham and Mrs Prevett. There were 9 candidates at this stage, who all did a fantastic job and made the final decision very difficult.

Those chosen will now be campaigning before the election using methods such as posters and badges. They are showing great commitment already by doing all this around their preparation for end of year exams and upcoming year 11.

The election will take place on 9 July 2018 and results will be announced in school, on ParentMail and on Twitter, so watch this space.

AQA UNLOCKING POTENTIAL PROGRAMME This year we have been lucky enough for 10 of our Year 10 students to have been working on the AQA Unlocking Potential Programme in conjunction with the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust. These students have been working with former Olympic swimmer and bronze medallist, Joanne Jackson. They have all been working incredibly hard on planning and organising social action and community projects based around the subjects of mental health and autism. 1 group is presenting an assembly at a local primary school and planning a family coffee morning, whilst the other is working with Year 6 students during the transition days and creating an advice leaflet for students.

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PRIMARY SCHOOL WORKSHOPS This year Miss Tea has organised a variety of workshops for our local primary schools.

The main aim of the workshops was to bridge the gap between primary and secondary school, develop and refine existing skills in a variety of subjects.

The workshops ranged from: PE – Develop their basic motor skills in state of the art fitness testing and multi-skills.

Science – Investigate which crisps have more salt using a variety of separation methods.

English – Murder Mystery Day - To promote writing, speaking and listening skills.

Students focused on an extended writing piece.

Languages Day – French and German - Develop an enthusiastic and positive attitude to other languages and language learning. Develop language skills and language learning skills. Raise awareness of aspects of their own language and make comparisons with the foreign language. Enjoy some degree of success in learning a new language, however small, and to build confidence. Increase cultural understanding by learning about different countries and their people.

Art – To encourage students’ artistic skills. As a group the students will combine their artistic talents to produce a variety of artistic memorabilia to look back at their time at primary school.

KLA Primary School Cluster Olympics - Develop a range of PE skills – working on their motor developments as well as their team building and communication skills.

Students will learn the Olympic morals and values, learn the cultures of other countries, and develop sportsmanship and leadership skills.

Morning – Football / netball / dodgeball / rounders Afternoon – Olympics (athletics) Next year KLA are excited to be able to run similar events from September 2018 and add even more exciting opportunities with links with outside agencies.

On 11 July these students are going to London to attend the Unlocking Potential Programme’s celebration event. This will give them the chance to meet other students from across the country who have taken part in this programme as well as their athlete mentors. There will also be an opportunity to meet Dame Kelly Holmes herself.

We are incredibly proud of the work they have been doing and it has been great to see them stepping outside their comfort zones, whether that be speaking to a group of people, working in a team of students they don’t usually work with or discussing their own thoughts, feelings and opinions during their mentoring sessions. They all deserve to celebrate and be proud of themselves.

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Term Dates Thursday 6th September Autumn term begins Thursday 18th October to Friday 26th October Half term Monday 29th October Back to school Tuesday 18th December Last day of autumn term Wednesday 19th December to Wednesday 2nd January Christmas holiday Thursday 3rd January Spring term dates

Principal: Alan Fletcher King’s Lynn Academy Queen Mary Road, King’s Lynn, PE30 4QG 01553 774671 enquiries@kla.eastern-mat.co.uk

Keep up to date with us on our website kingslynnacademy.co.uk Why not follow us on Twitter

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