The Kingston Academy Prospectus 2023

Prospectus 2023

Community - Character - Ambition

‘SinceopeningtheschoolinSeptember2015,theheadteacher hasquicklyestablishedanambitiousculturewhichdemands excellenceforall.’OFSTED REPORT, JUNE 2018

Welcome

from the Head Teacher

It is my great honour as Head Teacher to welcome you to The Kingston Academy. Since TKA first opened its doors in 2015, the school has grown into a vibrant community of more than 1200 pupils and 160 staff across all year groups including the Sixth Form. The school was set up by Kingston Educational Trust, a triumvirate between Kingston University, Kingston College and the Royal Borough of Kingston and our links with these three trust partners afford us access to an unparalleled breadth of experience and expertise in the education sector.

The school’s fantastic reputation amongst the local community has been validated by the exam results our pupils achieved in both 2022 and 2023, the first two years of sitting public examinations. Our A Level students achieved excellent results with the vast majority moving on to their first choice of university. Amongst GCSE pupils, the progress 8 score puts The Kingston Academy amongst the highest performing non-selective schools nationally. Going forward, we will continue to build on this legacy of high achievement.

TKA is privileged to be located in magnificent school premises with a fully renovated heritage school building and a state-of-the-art new extension. Our award winning new STEM building houses a stunning catering atrium, fully equipped sports hall, dance studio, lecture theatre, modern science laboratories and much more.

As your Head Teacher, I am committed to providing your child with an outstanding education that nurtures their talents and prepares them for success in the wider world beyond school.

Mrs Sophie Cavanagh – Head Teacher

and from the Head of School

As Head of School, it is my responsibility to oversee the operation of the school on a daily basis and deliver a consistently exceptional school experience to your child.

TKA is a non-selective and inclusive school with high ambitions for and expectations from our pupils. We celebrate and have the utmost respect for the diversity of our school community. We also ask for very high standards of behaviour and for our pupils to wear their uniform with pride. Our school nurtures mutual respect, responsibility and a strong spirit of collaboration.

At The Kingston Academy, we offer an abundance of exciting enrichment opportunities in sport, drama, music and the wider environmental and cultural world. We take full advantage of our proximity to the River Thames with paddle boarding and Dragon Boating both on offer to our pupils. Many participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme and we also provide a comprehensive range of trips both within the UK and abroad.

We are determined that our pupils will move forward in life as resilient and ambitious individuals, whose confidence has been underpinned throughout their school days by the knowledge that they are all highly valued and supported members of our school community. I know that we can deliver a fantastic and memorable secondary school experience and help your child to achieve their full potential.

Ms Charlie Venter – Head of School

Kingston Educational Trust

The Kingston Academy is a unique school, established as a result of a partnership between Kingston University, Kingston College and Royal Borough of Kingston. KET’s three partners have substantial and successful experience of strategic leadership and day to day management of educational institutions.

Our access to the expertise, resources and facilities of our partners gives us unrivalled opportunities to enrich the learning experience of our pupils. Since its inception, the school has staged numerous events with our partners such as a Celebration Evening in The Rose Theatre, pupil art exhibitions in the Creative Industries Centre and The Tempest, Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Lord of the Flies and, most recently, That Night Follows Day in the Arthur Cotterell Theatre.

Ethos , Values, Beliefs and Intentions

The development of an appetite and preparedness for lifelong learning is essential.

KET schools will:

• remember that intelligence is not fixed and can be developed and grown as learning is itself a skill and children and young people can be helped to develop it;

• challenge children and young people to learn more effectively through stimulating their curiosity and encouraging them to risk failure, to collaborate, to reflect on their experiences and to persevere to overcome adversity and difficulty;

• ensure that their children and young people will leave with a range of experiences and qualifications that are of genuine value to them and which will enable them to progress to their next stage of learning or work.

Kingston University and Kingston College students often work with our pupils on exciting collaborations such as constructing and launching water rockets, running the extra-curricular science club or assisting with our Going Beyond Programme. The school House Cup was designed through a project involving 44 students from Kingston University’s Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA).

By working closely with our founding partners to the mutual benefit of their students and our pupils alike, and through links and interactions with many other educational institutions, we play a key role in enhancing learning across the Borough.

Children and young people have an entitlement to teaching that is exemplary.

KET schools will:

• expect that all teaching is outstanding;

• insist that all teaching leads to outstanding progress for all learners, regardless of their individual challenges;

• lead learning through inspiring, enthusing and raising the aspirations of all learners.

(Further details of the Trust’s ethos can be found in the Governance section of the website)

‘Trusteesknowtheschoolverywellandaredeterminedtoensure thatallpupilsachievethebesttheycan….Theyprovideahighlevel ofchallengeandsupporttoseniorleaders’. OFSTED REPORT, JUNE 2018

Results and Qualifications

‘Outstanding’ - Ofsted’s judgement

The Kingston Academy received the wholehearted endorsement of the national school inspection system in June 2018, when Ofsted inspectors judged the school to be ‘Outstanding’ in every category, following the school’s first full inspection. An Ofsted inspection is anticipated within the coming academic year.

GCSE and A Level Results

The school has now completed two years of public examinations in 2022 and 2023. In both years our A level students received excellent results with the vast majority going on to further studies at the university of their choice, including a significant proportion of Russell Group Universities and Oxford. Our Year 11s also received consistently exceptional GCSE results, with around 90% achieving Grade 4 or above in both English and Mathematics. In 2022 8% of pupils achieved Grade 8 or 9 in eight or more subjects. In both years, the progress 8 score, which captures the progress a pupil makes from the end of primary school to Year 11, was significantly higher than the national average.

‘Leadershaveestablishedastimulatinglearningenvironment. Teachingsuccessfullychallengesallgroupsofpupilstoaim highandachievetheirbest’.

An Aspirational and Inspirational Curriculum

The curriculum at The Kingston Academy is designed to provide an excellent education for all pupils. Our core values of Resilience, Integrity, Generosity, Fulfilment and Creativity underpin the curriculum. Pupils are challenged to become independent learners and to develop a Growth Mindset. The use of digital technology, alongside traditional teaching methods provides an accessible and challenging learning environment for all.

All our pupils use Chromebooks and we have adopted Google Classroom which enables collaborative learning and frequent and effective teacher feedback on pupil performance. This extensive use of technology allowed us to switch rapidly to remote learning in the context of the COVID pandemic.

We believe that education should take place in a creative, purposeful and disciplined environment which demands stimulating teaching that enables successful learning. We want our pupils to be challenged by their curriculum in a safe but competitive learning community.

Pupils are taught in mixed-ability teaching groups for all subjects, apart from maths, where pupils are taught in either a core or advanced class. The table below shows a typical week for a pupil at TKA.

‘Thecurriculumisrichandcreative,whichbroadenspupils’mindsand helpsthemtothinkcritically’.OFSTED REPORT, JUNE 2018

Subject specialists ensure that lessons provide opportunities for all pupils to make progress, through effective planning which makes use of assessment data on pupils’ aptitude for each subject. Pupils with Special Educational Needs are supported through the work of the Inclusion team, who work with teachers to ensure they can access the curriculum.

Guided Choices

At the end of Year 9 pupils and parents / carers receive extensive support to enable them to make the GCSE choices that interest them, reflect their strengths and provide them with a breadth of knowledge. Pupils study either 9 or 10 GCSE subjects in total (depending on whether they take separate science GCSEs or the combined award, accounting for 2 GCSEs).

Sixth Form

Our Sixth Form provision is based on rigorous A Level qualifications with the addition of the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). Through these qualifications, students can engage with challenging academic content, helping them to build a thorough understanding of their chosen subject area as well as deepen their thinking through greater exposure to critical theory and analysis. In the Sixth Form, our students can access a wider range of subject choices such as economics and business, psychology, sociology and media studies.

Beyond the Curriculum

Pupils at The Kingston Academy follow a traditional but unique curriculum that includes many extra-curricular opportunities. The school’s enrichment programme offers exciting opportunities to ensure we go beyond what schools ordinarily do. Clubs, sports competitions, enterprise initiatives, public speaking, trips and the Duke of Edinburgh Award are just some of the enrichment activities that complement the curriculum. We are committed to ensuring all pupils participate in enrichment activities.

Teamwork, Enrichment and Going Beyond

Teamwork

All pupils belong to one of four houses: Berners-Lee, Curie, Hawking and Lovelace.

These provide a broader source of identity as well as providing opportunities for pupils to work together as a team. A wide variety of inter-house competitions (such as House Bake-off, House Art and House Football) fuel a friendly rivalry and lead to the awarding of the annual house trophy. House captains assist the Heads of House in organising and delivering events and activities. Pupil leadership is an integral element of the school, and pupils are encouraged to apply for the following leadership opportunities:

• Head Prefects

• House Captains

• Sports Captains

• Chrome Captains

• Art Ambassadors

• STEM Leaders

• Going Beyond Leaders

• Prefects

Enrichment

A wide range of enrichment activities are on offer at lunchtime and after school to enhance the educational experiences of our pupils. These include:

‘Theschoolprovidesaninspiringandwide-rangingextra-curricularprogramme, andcurriculum-basedcompetitions.…pupilsareextremelypositiveaboutthe todeveloptheirinterestsandpersonalskills,includingcommunicationskills’.

programme,includingsports,creativeworkshops

the‘goingbeyond’sessions,whichhelpthem skills’.

Going Beyond & Outdoor Education

Pupils participate in our unique ‘Going Beyond’ programme to ensure that the education on offer here genuinely exceeds the standard secondary curriculum. ‘Going Beyond’ opens our pupils’ minds to a diverse range of opportunities such as conservation, volunteering, extended research, enterprise or cultural explorations – learning for learning’s sake right on the doorstep of London, one of the world’s most exciting and diverse cities.

We are also on a mission at TKA to provide our pupils with excellent opportunities for Outdoor Education. Many pupils participate in The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, helping them to develop invaluable skills such as leadership, resilience, teamwork and communication. Plans are currently being developed for winter and summer overnight camps and pupil expeditions. We have been making full use of our proximity to the Thames through Dragon Boat racing and paddle boarding with the aim of offering these as DofE expedition options. Outdoor Education is an incredibly powerful tool and can have an amazing impact on a pupil’s academic achievement and quality of life and we are incredibly excited to be able to start providing these sorts of opportunities.

Our pupils have the opportunity to hear from experts drawn from a wide range of fields to enhance their learning. Some examples include a school visit by Leyla Hussain, social activist and campaigner against FGM, pupils meeting with Sir David Attenborough at The Royal Geographical Society, school assemblies run by a prominent oncologist, a qualified engineer, a veterinary scientist, a construction project manager, firemen and police officers amongst many others.

Care, Guidance and Support

The 180 pupils that enter Year 7 are placed into one of 12 tutor groups. These groups contain around 18 pupils to aid the often daunting transition of moving to secondary school. They form the building blocks of the pastoral system and are led by a staff member trained in pastoral tutoring, whilst being overseen by a Head of House. The tutor groups also provide pupils with a source of identity and a vehicle for competition and celebration, as well as their house allocation. The role of the tutor is central to achieving our goals regarding the pastoral care of our pupils – each tutor oversees their tutee’s progress and is responsible for managing their conduct.

In each year group, pupils are taught in classes which are made up of those from different tutor groups. Any pupil joining us as an in-year applicant is assigned a buddy to help them to settle in quickly with their peers.

Working with Parents

Parental involvement is crucial to the success of both the child and developing our school within the local community. We hold regular drop-in sessions for parents which provide a forum for parents to discuss developments at the school with members of our senior leadership team.

A new parents’ welcome evening is held in July prior to entry in September. A priority at this meeting is to advise parents about communications systems and expectations of the school. A curriculum evening for parents is held early in the autumn term which focuses on how the curriculum will be delivered, assessment methods used and how parents can support their child’s progress at home.

We encourage parents to become involved in all aspects of school-life including as part of consultative work and fundraising. Our Parents’ Association has previously supported the school by raising additional funds for the school, enabling the provision of two minibuses and supporting the purchase of our kiln amongst other recent projects.

‘Leadersandstaffkeepacloseeyeonpupils’welfaretoensure thattheybenefitfromthesupportthattheyneed,both academicallyandintheirpersonaldevelopment.’ OFSTED REPORT, JUNE 2018

SEND and Inclusion

TKA has a fundamental commitment to inclusion. We are ambitious for all children and want every child, every day to be well supported in achieving their full potential within a mainstream setting.

We are proud to have established an Enhanced Provision for children with a statement or EHC Plan for ASD. Our aim is to provide these pupils with tailored support that nurtures learning and personal development within the haven that is our school community.

Places to this provision are allocated by the Local Authority in partnership with the school, taking into account the needs of the individual child and our ability to appropriately support a child’s uniqueness.

Each academic year we complete a thorough transition process for pupils in year 6, liaising with parents/carers, teachers, SENCo’s and support staff in order to create detailed profiles of the pupils prior to their September start. This information is then delivered to all teaching and support staff, in order to raise their awareness of the SRP pupils’ needs.

‘The provision staff provide extra support in the areas my son finds the most challenging, allowing him to make really good progress and not feel overwhelmed or different from his peers’ (TKA

Parent)

‘My child has been given amazing opportunities since joining TKA, from meeting David Attenborough to visiting a vets’ university, this provision inspires my child and excites him for the future’. (TKA

Parent)

‘Overall,pupilswhohavespecialeducationalneeds(SEN) and/ordisabilities,includingpupilsinthespeciallyresourced provision,makesubstantialprogress’. OFSTED REPORT, JUNE 2018

Our Sixth Form

TKA’s Sixth Form will ignite academic curiosity, deepen knowledge, and develop confident students who are able to seize opportunities that will bring fulfilment throughout their lives.

Our experienced teaching staff will guide Sixth Formers to think critically about the world around them, opening up a realm of learning that goes beyond A Level course content.

Our provision is based on rigorous A Level qualifications, with the addition of the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). Through these qualifications, students will engage with challenging academic content that will help them build a thorough understanding of their chosen subject area as well as deepen their thinking through greater exposure to critical theory and analysis. A Level courses also place increased demands on independent study skills, skills that will be nurtured through TKA’s Sixth Form culture.

Through our ‘Learning to Lead’ Sixth Form reward scheme, students will be encouraged to seek out opportunities to develop their leadership capabilities and will be rewarded for ‘giving back’ through participation in a range of school based projects. At the heart of TKA’s Sixth Form culture is a belief that students

should not only leave with excellent qualifications, but with the skills and attributes necessary to contribute positively to the world around them.

Aspirations and ambitions will be nurtured through a tailored programme of support including University trips, bespoke career guidance and one-to-one mentoring for Oxbridge candidates.

Our supportive team of staff place students’ happiness at the heart of this provision, seeking to foster the values of kindness, consideration and decency by providing a safe and stimulating learning environment. We look forward to building on the close relationships already developed with our existing students, as well as welcoming new students into the TKA community.

You can find out more about the Sixth Form and how to apply on the school website

Sport at TKA

The Kingston Academy is committed to engaging all pupils in sport and developing an appreciation of the physical and mental rewards of sporting activity. We have been awarded the School Games Mark Gold Medal. This was awarded in recognition of our extensive competitive sports offering, both within TKA and with other schools, and of the leadership opportunities students are given with PE & Sport.

Through our partnership with the YMCA Hawker Centre and with our significant on site facilities we are able to deliver a comprehensive sporting programme across all age groups both as part of the curriculum and through the enrichment programme.

Our new building provides us with the opportunity to offer a wide range of additional sports in a state-of-the-art indoor sports hall and fitness centre, from basketball to badminton, indoor hockey to netball, trampolining and gymnastics to yoga. The new facility also gives us a number of floodlit outdoor hard courts.

Many pupils have selected to take PE to GCSE level and will have the opportunity to study the subject at ‘A’ Level.

Enrichment

Sporting enrichment clubs run before and after school 5 days a week and are hugely popular. The enrichment programme offers all pupils the opportunity to develop their skills and fitness to a higher level and is not exclusive to members of the school sports teams.

Fixtures

We run an extensive programme of fixtures, providing pupils with a motivating and focused sense of team and the challenge of competitive sport. Our teams play against local schools in the Surrey Schools Cup, London Schools Cup and the National Cup for boys and girls football and in the Borough leagues for all competitive sports. TKA pupils represent the school in Surrey Schools sports and the London Youth Games.

Sports Day

TKA’s annual Sports Day is a significant highlight of the school’s sporting calendar, held in the summer annually at the Kingsmeadow Athletics Centre and attended by the whole school.

Sports Presentation Evening

Sporting achievement is celebrated throughout the school year but particularly at the dedicated Sports Presentation Evening when individual and team sporting triumphs are recognised and rewarded.

Admissions

Extracted from the Determined Admissions

Arrangements for entry in September 2023

Year 7 and In Year Admissions Arrangements for entry from September 2024

Approved by the Board of Kingston Educational Trust on 12 December 2022*

The Kingston Academy is a co-educational, non-selective, non-faith secondary free school for the local community and its families. The school provides places for young people aged 11 to 18 and has a fully inclusive ethos, which welcomes all who wish to come to the school, and requires everyone to be valued for who they are and what they offer.

1. Admissions Authority

Kingston Educational Trust is the admissions authority for The Kingston Academy.

2. Entry into Year 7 in September 2024 and subsequent years of entry

The Kingston Academy is part of the Pan London Coordinated Admissions Scheme. For applications in the normal admissions round you must name the school on the application form provided by your home local authority. Full details of the secondary school application process are available in your local authority admissions booklet. The Kingston booklet ‘Admissions to Kingston Secondary Schools 2024’ is available from Kingston Council’s website at www.kingston.gov.uk.

Inaccurate or false information on the form could result in the place being withdrawn.

3. Number of places

The Kingston Academy has a published admission number (PAN) of 180 places in each year of entry into Year 7.

4. Children with an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) or Statement of Special Educational Need (SEN)

Any child with an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) or Statement of Special Educational Need (SEN) which names The Kingston Academy will be admitted to the school before all other applicants are considered.

5. Allocation of remaining places

The school will then offer the remaining places, admitting up to 180 pupils in total for entry into Year 7 each year. If the school is not oversubscribed, all applicants will be offered a place. In the event that the school receives more applications than the number of places it has available, places will be offered in the order of priority set out below.

6. Oversubscription Criteria for entry into Year 7 in September 2024 and subsequent years of entry:

a. Highest priority will be given to looked after children and previously looked after children, defined as respectively:

• children who are in the care of a local authority, or being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions in accordance with Section 22 of the Children Act 1989, at the time an application is made;

• Previously looked after children are children who immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order including those who appear to the Trust to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.

Applications made under this criterion must be accompanied by details of circumstance and professionally supported evidence (e.g. from a social worker).

b. Priority will next be given to children who have a sibling, including an adopted, foster, half- or step-sibling, living at the same home address and attending The Kingston Academy (including the Sixth Form) at the time of application;

c. Priority will next be given to children for whom there are exceptional family, social or medical needs which only The Kingston Academy can meet. The full circumstances must be described on the application form, including the reasons why these needs cannot be met at any other school and verified by professionally supported evidence such a letter from a GP, hospital consultant or other medical professional, educational psychologist or social worker;

d. Priority will next be given to children (including adopted, foster, half- or step-children) of staff who have been directly employed at the school for at least 2 years at the time of the application;

e. The remaining places will be offered to children who live nearest to The Kingston Academy, as measured by a straight line from the home address to the main Richmond Road school entrance. All distances will be measured using Kingston School Admissions computerised Geographical Information System. The address given in your application must be your child’s permanent home address, its authenticity will be checked and evidence may be requested to verify it.

Where parents live separately, the application must be based on the address where the child lives most of the time. Where the child lives with both parents at different addresses, evidence of your care arrangements will be required. All available evidence that you provide to support your application will be considered to decide which address will be used to process your application.

7. Use of a tie breaker and final tie-breaker

The distance from home to school, criteria 6e, will be used as a ‘tie-breaker’ if there are more applications than places available under any higher criteria.

For applicants who live the same distance from the school, random selection by the drawing of lots is used as a final tiebreaker. This process will be independently verified.

8. Multiple Births

Where a child from a multiple birth is allocated a place at the school under this policy, then any further child of the same multiple birth who has also applied and lives at the same home address, will also be allocated a place in order to allocate all siblings of the same multiple birth to the school and even though this may raise the number in the year group above the PAN.

This provision applies where a child from a multiple birth is allocated a place under any criterion, including children with an EHCP and children allocated a place in the Special Resourced Provision hosted by the school.

A copy of the full admissions arrangements can be found on the school website: www.thekingstonacademy.org/about-us/admissions

Head