Overview Of The 2023 / 2024 Academic Year So Far

Season’s greeting to you all.  Terms 1 and 2 have been industrious and students and staff can rightly look forward to a period of rest and relaxation after two terms filled with hard work and endeavour.  Engagement and enjoyment of school life in all its facets has been notable will real engagement in terms of the breadth of activity on offer.  I hope that your children return home each day with lots of positives about their time here as we continue to move forwards together.  As wee approach the end of the calendar year, I thought it would be an appropriate time to pick out some highlights of the year so far. 

Mock exams

Academically, students have been recognised for their efforts in the classroom with many receiving Merits and House Points.  Students in Years 11 and 13 have just completed their first Mock Examinations for the year and results will be shared at the end of term.  The students are to be congratulated on the way they have conducted themselves throughout.  The exams will give staff and students a very clear picture of the areas to revisit in the New Year.  However, I am sure that students will see that the hard work and efforts will have paid dividends.    

Science events

In November we held two stand-out Science events using our links with the long-established OPEN Learning Partnership.  At the start of the month, we were delighted to hold our first Family Science event which was open to families in the local area and allowed them to do some practical science work in our laboratories.  Families started by designing a ghost and then attaching it to a paperclip on a string. Then using two magnets they got their ghost to levitate and investigated how adding more magnets affected the distance they could levitate the ghost from. They then used balloons and static electricity to get ghosts to levitate a second way.  In the second session families investigated waves using a jelly baby wave machine and investigated waves travelling along a string. They also used chromatography to identify chemicals.  This event was very well attended, and we fully intend to run these again in the New Year. All information will come out to parents via email so please keep an eye out if this is something which might interest you and your children.  Later in November we had an indoor Planetarium on site for the first time. This piece of equipment is now on loan from Imperial College London to the OPEN Learning Partnership and we had it for this day to train staff in how to use it correctly. We had a small number of students in Years 9 and 10 who saw the show this time around and we will be booking this again as soon as possible to allow more students to have this immersive experience. As soon as dates have been booked, we will inform students and parents.

Open Evenings

We were delighted to open our doors to prospective Year 7 parents at the end of September.  This was a great opportunity to showcase the academy and we welcomed over 2000 visitors on the night. Our students and staff went above and beyond to ensure that all visitors saw the very best of KBA.  Open Evening was then followed by 3 weeks of Academy In Action tours. These took place twice a day for 15 consecutive school days and it was a pleasure to be able to allow so many people to see what makes KBA such a special place to work and learn.  We know that many parents will now be waiting for National Secondary School Offer Day on 1^st March 2024.  The 6^th Form Open Evening was equally well-attended, and the number of applications is extremely positive so far with the majority of our Year 11 students looking to stay on into next year.

Physical Education

In the world of sport, students have participated in a range of events out of school hours and have experienced real success.  We have our very first girls rugby team who are training hard for competitive matches, and female students also attended an NFL day at Tottenham Hotspurs Football Club.  Students demonstrated great athleticism at the District Cross Country Championships and The Year 7 Football Team won the Kettering League and came second in the District.  Finally, the Year 11 Football Team reached the County Final.  We are all extremely proud of the students that have represented the school and know that they have gained so much in the process.

Healthy Schools Award

Over the past year, KBA has taken part in the Healthy Schools Award.  This accreditation focuses on mental health and wellbeing, healthy eating, physical activity and the PSHE curriculum.  It offers schools a chance to celebrate what they are already doing, but also helps them to identify where there may be gaps for them to work on.  Laura Lelapi, Public Health Officer (Healthy Schools Coordinator) had this to say: “By completing the award, KBA have shown their dedication to the health and wellbeing of the whole school community.  As an academy, they are ambitious with their ideas and are continuously aspiring to give their pupils the best opportunities they can.  It is evident that they have worked hard to build a culture of acceptance for all and that they celebrate diversity throughout the academy. It was a pleasure to tour the school and see the welcoming environments they have created and hear about the unique experiences they offer at KBA. Through their experienced welfare team, the multitude of extra-curricular offerings, staff wellbeing support, well-balanced curriculum content and the way they use feedback from the school community to influence future actions, to name just a few, KBA have demonstrated how health and wellbeing is at the heart of everything they do.”

 

^{Laura Lelapi presenting the certificate to students.}

Year 11 Prom : June 27^th 2024

We are beginning to plan for our Year 11 Prom which will take place in the summer term of 2024. The Prom will take place at Boughton House on Thursday 27^th June and we know that students, parents and staff are all eagerly looking forward to this event which is, in our opinion, the social event of the year at the academy.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank His Grace, the Duke of Buccleuch for allowing us to hold our Year 11 Prom at such an awe-inspiring location. Boughton House is truly unique and ensures that our students have an unrivalled experience as they complete their compulsory education.  The image below shows last year’s Year 11 on the night of their Prom.

Trips and visits at KBA

This term we have held a variety of trips and visits ranging from a Chemistry in Action trip, Imperial College London and Northampton University trips to an Oundle art exhibition.  A lucky few went to Stamford Bridge to meet some members of Chelsea’s First Team as part of a project between Chelsea Football Club and The Paul Canoville Foundation.  

CCF Camp

The CCF delivered an excellent camp for our Year 9 Army and RAF cadets with the Year 12 students stepping up to help run the camp.  The first day was based around a military orientation teaching the cadets how to operate in a military camp.  The camp was focussed on teamwork, courage, discipline and leadership being tested on the shooting ranges, climbing wall, obstacle course and abseil with some sporting activities thrown in for good measure.  The Sixth Form students were an absolute credit to KBA delivering training sessions while rotating through study periods to keep up-to-date with school work. RAF staff remarked on their maturity and leadership; setting the example for the younger cadets to follow. 

Goethe Institute trip

The MFL department had a fantastic trip to the Goethe Institute in London for Y8 and Y9 German students. The day began with a presentation about the "Advantages of learning German & Introduction in German culture".  Students were involved in a variety of activities during the day and got to sample typical German food for lunch.  The students were positively engaged throughout the staff from the Goethe Institute commented on how polite our students were and look forward to our next visit.

I would like to thank all of the staff who give up their time to offer, run and support these fantastic enrichment opportunities which provide our students with lifelong memories.

Last but not least, I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I hope that you have a wonderful time with friends and family over the holidays and I look forward to seeing the students on Monday 8^th January 2024.  Take good care of yourselves over the holiday and I look forward to seeing what exciting opportunities the New Year brings us all!

Mr Shaw

Associate Principal