Intrepidus Magazine Summer 2021

THE OFFICIAL KENSINGTON ALDRIDGE ACADEMY MAGAZINE

#18 SUMMER 2021

SUMMER 2021

STUDENTS GET A STANDING OVATION AT THE PERFORMING ARTS SHOWCASE

...

IN THIS ISSUE OF

CONTENTS Principal’s Welcome

1

House Competitions 2020-2021 House Cup Autumn Term Spring Term Summer Term Sports Day

2 3-4 5 6 7-8

Performing & Creative Arts Summer Showcase 9-14 Masked Singer KAA 15-16 Duke of Edinburgh Oxford Residential Georaphy Fieldtrips Science News Parent Calendar

17 18 19 20 Back page

Dear Parents & Carers, It is with great delight that I welcome you to the summer edition of INTREPIDUS magazine.

As a result of the restrictions on school events throughout the pandemic it has been a year since our last issue of the school magazine was released in Summer 2020.

Since students have returned in March, it has been fantastic to see them return to lessons, house competitions & enrichment activities with such enthusiasm. This magazine will give parents & friends of the academy a small flavour of our students’ achievements since the return to school.

A huge congratulations to Angelou students and staff for winning the 2020-21 House Cup. A well deserved win, with top results across the year in the interim house competitions, Sports Day, and House Debating! We look forward now to next year’s competition when we hope that the full range of house competitions across year groups will be able to return!

I’ll just close by expressing my huge thanks to students, staff and parents in the KAA community for their resilience and support through the past eighteen months. As ever, I am grateful for the support of our parents and local community.

With best wishes for the summer break,

@KensingtonAldridgeAcademy

@KAA_Intrepidus @kaa_intrepidus

David Benson Principal

A huge congratulations to Angelou house for managing to retain their lead in the 2020-21 house cup! It’s Angelou’s second win in the school’s history, with their last win three years ago, in 201617.

Angelou had kept a solid lead throughout the school year after a win in the Autumn 1 major house debating competition. However, despite strong performances in the interim competitions and attendance throughout the year for Angelou, Honeyball’s exceptional surge in commendations and gold and silver merits in the summer term meant that the competition very nearly ended in a third Honeyball win, with less than 2,000 points between Angelou and Honeyball at the end of the Summer 1 term.

However, as our major competitions returned with Sports Day in the summer term, Angelou’s strong performance and first ever win at Sports Day alongside another first place finish in attendance allowed them to retain their lead in the final straight.

Due to COVID restrictions and year group bubbling this academic year, the only major house competitions that have run this year have been House Debating (run vertically and won by Angelou in the Autumn 1 term) and Sports Day (an outdoor event with distancing between year groups and also won by Angelou in the Summer 2 term - see pages 7 and 8 for further details!).

We can’t wait for the return of House Drama, House Dance, House Music and House Art & Design across the Autumn and Spring terms next year. Whilst the summer issue of INTREPIDUS would usually provide a summary of just the summer term house competitions, what follows in the next pages is a full run down of the house competition this year due to the magazine’s hiatus in the Autumn and Spring terms this year.

Keep up with current House System news on the KAA Video YouTube channel and KAA Online. Each student has access to their house Google Classroom via KAA Online.

KAA HOUSE POINTS EXPLAINED...

Major House Competitions (1 per half term) 1st = 20,000 points 2nd -= 15,000 points 3rd = 10,000 points 4th = 5,000 points Interim House Competitions (4-6 per half term) 1st = 5,000 points 2nd = 3,750 points 3rd = 2,500 points 4th = 1,250 points House Attendance (awarded once per half term) 1st = 5,000 points 2nd = 3,750 points 3rd = 2,500 points 4th = 1,250 points Merits & Commendations Gold Merit = 50 points Silver Merit = 30 points Commendation (5 merits) = 25 points KAA@Home Merit = 5 points Academic Awards At the end of each half term, academic excellence and resilience awards are given to students who have shown these core values in their lessons and end of term assessments. Each half term we focus on 3 different subjects, and the winner of each award earns 150 points for their house. If your child wins this award, they will be given a certificate in the end of term assembly to bring home with them.

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The first major house competition for the autumn term saw students in years 7 to 13 compete in House Debating.

Each week throughout the half term a different year group battled it out on motions ranging from “the voting age in the UK should be lowered to 16” to “statues commemorating controversial historical figures should be kept where they are”, with the points accumulating week by week and the overall winner announced at the end of half term. There were 12 debates, 52 debaters, and 24 judges – but just one house could win the 20,000 house points for first prize!

The Sixth Form started off the competition with debates on the motions “in the digital age we should not expect our data to remain private”, “humanity should fear advances in artificial intelligence”, “tourism is a force for good in the world” and “statues commemorating controversial historical figures should be kept where they are.”

Year 13’s Franklin team – Leila (13 Wilberforce), Abeera (13 Ebadi), Keely (13 Ebadi) – get a special shout out for being the highest scoring team with an impressive 58 points. When all points from both year groups were added together, Honeyball finished the sixth form competition in the lead by 11 points with a total of 130, followed by Pankhurst hot on their heels with 119 points!

The following week saw the Year 10s tackling the motions “British people cannot be trusted to just do the right thing; this country needs stricter law enforcement” and “CCTV and surveillance is making our society turn into a dystopian nightmare’. The Year 10 Angelou team – Alexyia (10 Tambo), Layal, Rami and Ashraf (all 10 Yousafzai) – get a special shout out for being the highest scoring team with an impressive 55 points! After the year 10 competition Angelou sped ahead, catching up with Honeyball and putting the two houses neck and neck, tied at 188 points each.

The Year 9 teams were up next, tackling the motion “The UK should have a completely open border policy when it comes to immigration”. Angelou won with 55 points, and Franklin came a close second with 53 points. The standout debaters were Rayya (9 Angelou1) and Sina (9 Franklin2) – their fantastic performances earned them 20 additional points towards the final Angelou and Franklin scores. As we entered the final week of term, Angelou was in the lead with 263 points, with Honeyball in second with 228, Pankhurst in third with 215 and Franklin in fourth with 204 points.

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The penultimate competition saw Year 8 students debating for and against the idea that “everyone

Last but not least, the Year 7 debating teams tackled the motion “the voting age in the UK should be lowered to 16”. Honeyball took fourth place with 41 points, Pankhurst came in second with a score of 52, Franklin snatched second place with 56 points, but Angelou took another first place position with an incredible 65 points! An additional 20 points went to standout debaters in Angelou and Pankhurst – meaning the final scores were as follows below and Angelou claimed the 20,000 house points for first place!

AUTUMN 1 2020 INTERIM Y7 Girls’ Football 1st ANGELOU 2nd PANKHURST 3rd HONEYBALL 4th FRANKLIN Y8 Girls’ Football 1st FRANKLIN 2nd ANGELOU 3rd HONEYBALL 4th PANKHURST Y7 Boys’ Football 1st PANKHURST 2nd FRANKLIN 3rd ANGELOU 4th HONEYBALL Y8 Boys’ Football 1st FRANKLIN 2nd PANKHURST 3rd ANGELOU 4th HONEYBALL Y7 Girls’ Netball 1st ANGELOU 2nd PANKHURST 3rd FRANKLIN 4th HONEYBALL Y8 Girls’ Netball 1st HONEYBALL 2nd ANGELOU 3rd = FRANKLIN & PANKHURST

AUTUMN 1 2020 ATTENDANCE 1st ANGELOU 2nd HONEYBALL 3rd FRANKLIN 4th PANKHURST AUTUMN 1 2020 MAJOR COMPETITION HOUSE DEBATING 1st ANGELOU 2nd PANKHURST 3rd HONEYBALL 4th FRANKLIN

AUTUMN 1 MAJOR HOUSE COMPETITION HOUSE DEBATING SCORES

HOUSE COMPETITIONS

should have the right to live wherever they want.”

It was an impressive display, with the Honeyball team scoring 62 points – the highest score of any team in the competition! However, the standout debaters were Robel (8 Pankhurst2) and Olivia (8 Honeyball1). Honeyball took the victory for Year 8, with Angelou in second place with 55 points, Pankhurst in third with 49 points, and Franklin in fourth with 45 points. This fantastic performance from the Year 8 Honeyball team meant that as we awaited the final competition in Year 7, Angelou were just 8 points ahead, with 318 points to Honeyball’s 310.

AUTUMN 2 2020 INTERIM Xmas Card Design 1st FRANKLIN 2nd HONEYBALL 3rd PANKHURST 4th ANGELOU Winter Hut Design 1st ANGELOU 2nd PANKHURST & FRANKLIN 4th HONEYBALL AUTUMN 2 2020 ATTENDANCE 1st FRANKLIN 2nd HONEYBALL 3rd PANKHURST 4th ANGELOU

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In the Spring 1 term Angelou students accumulated 12,500 points for interim house competitions with a win in Code Breaking and two second place finishes for Drama Monologues and Ready, Steady, Cook! With no major house competition as students learnt remotely from home, Angelou finished the Spring 1 term still in the lead.

In Spring 2, Angelou banked another 10,000 points for wins in the interim Cartoons and MFL Easter Egg Design but Pankhurst, Honeyball and Franklin all enjoyed wins in int erim competitions across the term, competitions included Coding, 3D Geography models, and a lockdown walking challenge.

SPRING 1 2021 Drama Monologues 1st HONEYBALL 2nd ANGELOU 3rd FRANKLIN 4th PANKHURST Code Breaking 1st ANGELOU 2nd HONEYBALL 3rd FRANKLIN 4th PANKHURST Ready, Steady, Cook!

1st FRANKLIN 2nd ANGELOU 3rd HONEYBALL 4th - PANKHURST

The winning illustration in the interim House Cartoon competition was the above image of Maya Angelou by Thaiony (9 Angelou 1)

SPRING 1 2021 ATTENDANCE 1st FRANKLIN 2nd PANKHURST 3rd HONEYBALL 4th ANGELOU SPRING 2 2021 Coding 1st HONEYBALL 2nd ANGELOU Pankhurst - 3rd place - 10,000 points 3rd PANKHURST 4th FRANKLIN

Olivia (8 Honeyball 1) reciting a monologue for the interim drama competition

Cartoons 1st ANGELOU 2nd HONEYBALL 3rd FRANKLIN 4th PANKHURST MFL Egg Design 1st ANGELOU 2nd HONEYBALL 3rd PANKHURST 4th FRANKLIN

Ready, Steady, Cook entry from Iona (10 Hume), won by in Franklin house

Geography 3D Models 1st FRANKLIN 2nd PANKHURST 3rd HONEYBALL 4th ANGELOU Lockdown Walking Challenge 1st PANKHURST 2nd ANGELOU 3rd HONEYBALL 4th FRANKIN

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SPRING 2 2021 ATTENDANCE 1st PANKHURST 2nd = FRANKLIN & ANGELOU 4th HONEYBALL

Honeyball had another strong term in Summer 2, winning the interim Spelling Bee, House Fashion, & accumulating lots of commendations.

Pankhurst were the winners of the logo design competition and Angelou secured another half term with highest attendance.

However, the Summer 2 term saw the return of the major house competition! See page 7 for details of our first major house competition since the Autumn term…

SUMMER 1 2021 Creative Histories 1st - PANKHURST 2nd - HONEYBALL 3rd - ANGELOU 4th - FRANKLIN English Riddles 1st - HONEYBALL 2nd - ANGELOU 3rd - FRANKLIN 4th - PANKHURST Y7 Basketball 1st - ANGELOU 2nd - HONEYBALL 3rd - FRANKLIN 4th - PANKHURST Y8 Basketball 1st - PANKHURST 2nd - ANGELOU 3rd - HONEYBALL 4th - FRANKLIN Library Books 1st - ANGELOU 2nd = FRANKLIN & PANKHURST 4th - HONEYBALL SUMMER 1 2021 ATTENDANCE 1st ANGELOU 2nd = FRANKLIN & PANKHURST 4th HONEYBALL SUMMER 2 2021

HOUSE COMPETITIONS

In the Summer 1 term Pankhurst won the creative histories interim competition and Angelou managed to return the most library books in our post-lockdown amnesty, as well as achieving highest attendance.

However Honeyball secured a win in the English department’s interim riddles competition and accumulated an astonishing number of commendations, springing them into a very close second place behind Angelou, who had been leading in the race for the House Cup since the Autumn term.

Spelling Bee 1st HONEYBALL 2nd FRANKLIN 3rd = PANKHURST & ANGELOU Fashion Design 1st - HONEYBALL 2nd - PANKHURST 3rd - ANGELOU 4th - FRANKLIN Logo Design 1st - PANKHURST 2nd - ANGELOU & HONEYBALL 4th - FRANKLIN SUMMER 2 2021 ATTENDANCE 1st ANGELOU 2nd PANKHURST 3rd FRANKLIN 4th HONEYBALL

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The major house competition of the Summer 2 term was House Sports Day at the Linford Christie Stadium on Wednesday 14th July. Students from Years 7 to Year 12 competed across individual track and field events, with points accumulating for an overall total across the day, with 20,000 house points up for grabs for the winners.

The sun was shining throughout the day as students enjoyed a fun filled day of participating in athletics, spectating, and dancing to the Macarena, as well as students breaking 9 KAA student records! It was without a doubt our best Sports Day to date and a well deserved day of celebrations for our students.

A full list of our new record holders is provided here - this included numerous students breaking the record for the 800 metres and long jump for their year group.

Congratulations to Indigo (8 Franklin 2), Pol (8 Pankhurst 2), Alexis (9 Pankhurst 2), Ressa (9 Franklin 2), Gustav (9 Angelou 2), Xavier (7 Kassovitz), Walid (8 Honeyball 1), Mohamed (9 Honeyball 1) and Aaliyah (10 Jume) on securing a place in the KAA history books!

After every event result was tallied, students and staff waited in anticipation for the final result, which would tip the balance on the final standings for the 2020-21 house cup. The final scores were incredibly close, with Angelou taking first place ahead of Franklin by just 31 points meaning Angelou students lifted the Sports Day Cup for the first time in the school’s history - to much delight!

Our huge thanks to Ms Thompson and the PE department for their hard work organising such a fantastic Sports Day, and to the students for participating with enthusiasm throughout the day.

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HOUSE COMPETITIONS

8

PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS 9

After more than a year since we were last able to welcome parents into the academy for a performing arts event, we were delighted to welcome 130 guests back into the theatre with social distancing in place for our Performing & Creative Arts showcase on Tuesday 6th July.

The cast ran dance, drama and writing workshops

Before entering the theatre for the show, audience members enjoyed an art & design exhibition of student work whilst Janus (12 Sirleaf) played piano beautifully in the foyer to set the atmosphere.

Over 75 students took part in the showcase, with dance, drama and music departments showing off the fantastic work our students have produced this year. Performances ranged from Shakespeare monologues to a full rock band! The audience thoroughly enjoyed the show and gave the students a standing ovation after the finishing number, Hard Knock Life from the musical Annie. With such a fantastic show produced in such a short space of time, we can’t wait to see what the Performing Arts team have in store for us next year.

Many thanks to the Performing & Creative Arts teachers for their time and commitment in making the show and exhibition such a success, the talented and dedicated students involved on stage and behind the scenes, and the families who supported the stars of the show throughout the term and on the night in the audience.

A full video of the show will be released on our YouTube channel and website shortly for those who weren’t able to secure tickets.

We look forward to being able to welcome a larger audience for our Christmas Concert on Thursday 16th December.

PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS

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PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS 11

“Revolting Children” - Dance piece

Aaliyah (10 Hume), Amir (8 Honeyball 1), Ana (10 Truth), Aslan (10 Truth), Danielle (9 Honeyball 2), Elena (8 Honeyball 1), Jadie (9 Honeyball 2), Joyce (10 Tambo), L’oreal (7 Lorca), Lirio (10 Hume), Lola (8 Honeyball 2), Mia (9 Pankhurst 1), Nessie (10 Tambo), Salma (8 Honeyball 1), Shabnam (8 Honeyball 1), Stephanie (10 Bonhoeffer)

PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS

Drama ensembles and monologues

Ayla (7 Evaristo), Amaira (7 Evaristo). Akira (12 Fry), Eden (8 Angelou 2), Ella (8 Honeyball 2), Emma (8 Honeyball 1), Licia (8 Angelou 2), Lyric (12 Tutu), Mari (8 Angelou 1) and Olivia (8 Honeyball 1). Sean (7 Kassovitz)

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PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS 13

Musical performances including the choir, duets and the rock band

Amaira (7 Evaristo), Anamika (7 Slimani), Anna (8 Pankhurst 1), Anousheh (12 Azarmi), Ariana (9 Franklin 2), Arsenii (7 Evaristo), Ayla (7 Evaristo), Chyanne (9 Honeyball 1), Eden (8 Angelou 2), Elena (8 Honeyball 1), Fatmata (8 Pankhurst 1), Gabriel (9 Pankhurst 2), Irene (9 Honeyball 1), Jessica (7 Kassovitz), Kassey (7 Smith), Licia (8 Angelou 2), Lyric (12 Tutu), Mari (8 Angelou 1), Nour (8 Franklin 1), Omara (7 Muller), Rom (12 Roosevelt), Saoirse (9 Pankhurst 2), Teddy (9 Pankhurst 1), Ana (10 Truth), Eliana (10 Yousafzai), Anousheh (12 Maathai), Musa (12 Maathai), Troy (12 Wilberforce), Abigail (10 Carter), Rose (10 Jones), Ashraf (10 Yousafzai), Ezekiel (13 Fry), Josh (10 Jones) and Matthew (10 Yousfzai)

Aaliyah (10 Hume), Amir (8 Honeyball 1), Ana (10 Truth), Aslan (10 Truth), Danielle (9 Honeyball 2), Elena (8 Honeyball 1), Jadie (9 Honeyball 2), Joyce (10 Tambo), L’oreal (7 Lorca), Lirio (10 Hume), Lola (8 Honeyball 2), Mia (9 Pankhurst 1), Nessie (10 Tambo), Salma (8 Honeyball 1), Shabnam (8 Honeyball 1), Stephanie (10 Bonhoeffer), Emily (13 Ibrahim), Emilia (13 Attlee), Julia (12 Maathai) & her dance partner Catalin

PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS

Dance performances including ensemble pieces and duets

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PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS

In the Spring term, with limits on performing arts and performances we couldn’t host major house competitions in the theatre, but that didn’t stop the whole school from enjoying Performing Arts as we hosted our first ever (virtual) Masked Singer!

Just like the TV series, our staff kitted themselves out in disguises and performed a song of their choice and gave some cryptic clues to help students guess their identity. Episodes were streamed on our YouTube channel into tutor groups each week, allowing the whole school across KAA1 and KAA2 to follow along and get swept up in the excitement!

Episode one aired on Friday 19th March and featured “Fox” singing the Amy Winehouse cover of Valerie, “Captain” singing Friday Night by The Darkness, “Shark” singing Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood by Nina Simone, and “Lobster” singing Olivia Rodrigo’s Driving Licence. As the excitement built and staff and students alike swapped guesses for the first four contestants, episode two premiered in form time on Wednesday 24th March featuring “Duck” singing Sunday Best by Surfaces, “Storm Trooper” singing I’m Yours by Jason Mraz, “The Bluebirds” singing Hakuna Matata from the Lion King, and “Dragon” singing Frozen’s For the First Time in Forever. The third episode on Friday 26th March starred “Scream”, singing John Legend’s Ordinary People, “Parrot” singing September by Earth, Wind & Fire, and “Boris” singing Your Song by Elton John.

Students and staff had a week to vote for their favourite acts as well as guessing the teacher behind each mask before the final episode premiered on the last day of term amid much excitement and speculation.

“I’m the Shark - I hope I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew. The Great White shark has a brain 60cm long and just like that shark my brain is enormous. You might find me on the third floor hunting students down for work.” Shark

“Hello - Bonjour - my name is Captain America. You’d like to know who I am? London is not my home town, I chose this costume based on my favourite Marvel superhero. The most frequent question I get asked by students is ‘how tall are you?’ - apparently people want to know how tall I am.

For your final clue, my first and last name have the same number of letters. Good luck!” - The Captain

“Although I’m a cool crustacean by day, I was made to be a movie star. My favourite film is the Little Mermaid, Sebastian would be my dream role. I’m London born and bred, not far from these ends. When I was younger I wanted to be a medical research but future hobbies and career could not have been more different. At KAA I can be found scuttling between KAA1 and 2, so come and find me!” - Lobster

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“If you want to know who I am, first thing’s first I’m not a man.

When I was your age this song was stuck in my head, I love to bake banana bread.

I talk a lot but I’m not a preacher, I guess you could say I’m ______ ______”- Fox

PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS

“Hi I’m Dragon, I’ve got some fire in my belly and I can’t WAIT for you to hear me roar! Fun fact: not only did my hometown make me, its also producing one of the COVID vaccines. Also, you won’t hear my department singing out loud, but if you listen carefully you might catch some hums.” - Dragon

“I’m Duck - quack, quack! My love for music started very young, I even used to play clarinet in the South London Music Band. I take to singing like a duck takes to water. Even though I can’t fly, you can often find me high up - come and find me!” - Duck

“I enjoy a laugh much more than I do a scare, giggles and jokes make up the most of my existence, though my face doesn’t tell it. I consider myself to be a thrill seeker, adventure holidays are just for me. When I’ve finished walking through walls and haunting people for the day, I love to relax with a nice cuppa.” Scream

“I might be storm trooper but I’m more of a Harry Potter fan. I love my Anime too though - it’s never too far from my thoughts.

My name is the BIGGEST clue I can give you, it’s the job I do in school. Say it slowly and you’ll be able to work out who I am.”Storm Trooper

“Hi there folks, Boris here. Look alas, we’ve made it - here we are all together again, it’s fantastic. I just needed a little break from governing the country to come and sing a little ditty for you. Something you don’t know about me is this - I sleep for two hours a day and that is better than my predecessor, or one of them, Margaret Thatcher.” - Boris

“We’re the two Bluebirds and like the characters who originally sang this song we’re a dynamic duo - tweet, tweet! We’re very similar to most birds since we’re not omnivores and we’ve flown together since starting at KAA at the same time. Try and spot us, we’ll fly away!” - The Bluebirds

We won’t give any spoilers here - if you missed the series you can watch it all now on our YouTube channel (including the episode four unmasking!). Our thanks to Mr Edwards, Mr Dantas & Ms Cockell for masterminding and creating the competition to entertain the school!

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DUKE OF EDINBURGH

In the summer term our Duke of Edinburgh students were finally able to head out on their assessed Bronze expeditions to complete their awards after their hard work completing the other elements through the turbulence of this past year.

In June and July our DoE coordinators took our Year 10 Bronze DofE groups to Sayers Croft, where they navigated around the area by themselves, camped, and cooked with trangias. Students on the Silver award will be completing their expeditions over the summer.

The Bronze groups had a great time and found the experience really rewarding. Some of their highlights were the beautiful views, getting to see the stars at night, and helping an injured baby rabbit! One group so impressed some other walkers they encountered with their positive attitude and friendly conversation that the members of the public looked up the school to get in touch to compliment the students. These students truly exhibited resilience, excellence and citizenship on their expedition.

Our thanks to the KAA Intrepidus Trust and their supporters for the generous donations which make our Duke of Edinburgh programme possible.

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If you are interested in working towards a Duke of Edinburgh award next year, contact Ms O’Regan or Ms Speakman by emailing info@kaa.org.uk to register your interest!

Students had a full programme of lectures, seminars and activities to give them a taste of university. They enjoyed a myth busting talk from the education officer and two academic lectures from a researcher and PhD student.

Dr Phil Grunewald discussed NetZero energy and the teacher sessions were tailored to Oxbridge and medicine applications. Students and staff discussed the interview process, accessing what university offers, super-curricular research, surviving university and budgeting, philosophical logic and critical thinking and a powerful session on diversity.

Akira, an avid rower, tried sculling and ended up swimming! They went punting and no-one fell in, so was a huge success. A successful scavenger hunt saw fierce competition and many photos of quirky Oxford sites.

The weekend ended with a Formal Hall dinner and an evening watching the England vs Italy Euros football match; a bitter sweet taste.

Our thanks to Mr Whitlock, Ms Sandford, Ms Stevens, Ms Osman, Ms Williams, Ms Ravenscroft and Mr Pepple for giving up their weekend to support this special experience for our students ahead of UCAS applications in the Autumn term.

OXFORD RESIDENTIAL

On Friday 9th July to Monday 12th July the Sixth Form team took 29 Year 12 students to Oxford University for the weekend.

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GEOGRAPHY NEWS

Over 150 KAA students have been treated to the fresh air, blue skies, and stunning views of the South Downs and the Sussex Coast over the last weeks of the summer term for their geography field trips to Eastbourne. We began each day with a bracing hike to Beachy Head - the highest chalk sea cliff in the UK (531 feet above sea level) where we surveyed the beach below where we conducted our fieldwork.

On the beach at Holywell, students carried out a range of fieldwork techniques to investigate the success of the management scheme there students showed great resilience and collected some excellent data.

Many also learned the vital skills of stone skimming from Mr Byrne and, of course, enjoyed a well deserved ice cream and chips at the end of the day - although the enormous seagulls did take it upon themselves to steal a number of our poor students' snacks, much to their dismay!

Though the students were exhausted after all the fresh air and walking, we could not have asked for a more appreciative and positive group. Their resilience was incredibly impressive, they were wonderful company and they acted as outstanding ambassadors for the school. We were stopped numerous times by local residents who were incredibly complimentary about our students. We are so proud of them all.

We would also like to congratulate our sixth formers who, due to COVID, couldn’t attend a residential trip earlier this year. Instead, they came along to Eastbourne TWICE and completed some incredible data collection for the NEAs they will complete in year 13.

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By Ms Blount

SCIENCE NEWS

By Mr Simon

Throughout the year a group of our KAA physicists have been attending stretch and challenge sessions with a teacher from Charterhouse, Mr Hearn. Charterhouse is one of the most prestigious independent schools in the country, and is an academic partner of KAA. Our partnership with the school gives our students opportunities likes this that are unique in state schools and academies.

This programme culminated with a two day visit to Charterhouse, where students worked on a variety of theoretical and practical interview style physics challenges. The trip was enjoyed by all and we hope to continue this excellent programme next year.

Salma (12 Tubman) said “the visit to Charterhouse was a wonderful experience; I was able to investigate several important concepts and was able to develop my critical thinking through the experiments we did.”

Lily (12 Tutu) added “I was grateful to be able to take part in this amazing opportunity which allowed me to see a school as extraordinary and with such a rich history to it. On top of that, having a strong science department that allowed and taught me how to use creativity in physics as well as opening a new side of the course.”

Thank-you to Mr Hearn and Charterhouse for hosting KAA staff and students, and to the KAA staff who attended over the half term break.

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Autumn Term Parent Calendar Date Monday 19th July - Wednesday 1st September Tuesday 10th August Thursday 12th August Thursday 2nd September Friday 3rd September

Event

Time

Summer holiday A Level Results Day GCSE Results Day & Sixth Form Enrolment Y7 & Y12 Induction Day Y7, Y8 & Y9 Induction Day & Y12 lessons begin

8am - 3pm 9am - 4pm 8.30am - 3.50pm 8.30am - 2.55pm

Monday 6th September Tuesday 14th September

Start of term for Y10, Y11 & Y13 (all students in lessons) Y7 Welcome to KAA Parents Evening

8.30am - 3.50pm 6.00pm - 7.00pm

Monday 20th September

Y6 Open Morning

9.15am - 10.30am

Tuesday 21st September

Y6 Open Morning

9.15am - 10.30am

Wednesday 22nd September

Y6 Open Morning

9.15am - 10.30am

Thursday 23rd September

Y6 Open Evening

5.00pm - 8.00pm

Thursday 7th October

Y11 Parent Information Evening

6.00pm - 7.00pm

Thursday 14th October

Sixth Form Open Evening

5.00pm - 8.00pm

Saturday 16th October Friday 22nd October Monday 25th October - Friday 5th November

Y6 Performing Arts Aptitude Admissions Testing Last day of Autumn 1 term for all students Autumn half term holiday

10.00am - 4.00pm 8.30am - 2.55pm -

Monday 8th November

Autumn start of term for all students

8.30am - 3.50pm

Thursday 18th November

Y8 Parents’ Evening

4.30pm - 7.30pm

Thursday 2nd December

Y12 & Y13 Parents’ Evening

4.30pm - 7.30pm

Friday 10th December Thursday 16th December

Staff Planning Day (school closed to students) Christmas Concert

6.00pm - 8.00pm

Friday 17th December Monday 20th December - Tuesday 4th January

Last day of Autumn 2 for all students (half day) Christmas holiday (school closed to students)

8.30am - 12.00pm -