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Bexhill Academy
Gunters Lane, Bexhill-on-Sea,
East Sussex TN39 4BY
T: 01424 730722
W: www.bexhillacademy.org
ATTWOOD ACADEMIES Registration Number: 09148479
Catherine Davies, Executive Principal
Vicky Norris-Wright, Head of Academy
Eleanore Gordon, Vice Principal
18th September 2020
Academy Friday Update – 2
Dear Parents and Carers
I am absolutely thrilled and delighted with your children! Walking around the Academy, popping into lessons and
speaking to students in corridors and break times is such a pleasure. The overwhelming majority of students have
returned with a positive attitude and are really keen to learn skills and attitudes that will serve them well
throughout life.
We really need your support as we embed our high expectations and that support has been overwhelming over
the last two weeks particularly. Thank you sincerely. Some of the encouraging feedback has made staff cry.
Schools are now one of the places where it is essential we have robust routines and compliance with the safety
expectations so that everyone is safe. This includes keeping your families safe by ensuring that we have regular
handwashing, Year group bubbles and different start times. Your understanding and support has made this return
for 1700 students and staff possible. We have loved welcoming every child back. We have loved seeing them walk
proudly into the Academy and work eagerly in lessons. Attendance has been outstanding so please encourage
your child to continue to attend every day because then we have the best chance to prepare them for a brilliant
and successful future.
There are a few areas where we would appreciate your help and support:
- If collecting children from outside the Academy please can you arrange to collect them on one of the side roads or further down the road. This will improve congestion and safety at the front of the Academy and mean there is no double-parking or stopping on the road.
- Can parents standing outside to pick up children at the end of the day please remember social distancing as there have been some complaints of larger groups of adults congregating and blocking the pathway.
- Do commend your child for following the rules of wearing masks – we have had very limited resistance. If your child has medical exception, we allow the wearing of a sunflower lanyard and this will mean they don’t get stopped and asked multiple times a day.
- Do contact your child’s tutor or Pastoral Manager if we can do anything better or if you have suggestions. We are all working together to navigate through these uncharted times and suggestions for further improvements are welcomes.
I am enjoying receiving the high quality entries for the Mission Respect competition – winners will be announced
soon. Have a lovely and safe weekend. Thank you for the warm welcome for my first proper term as the new
Principal. I certainly feel embraced by caring and supportive community here in Bexhill.
Student Roll of Honour
Emillie M who has had such a positive start to Year 10.
Harvey T & Freddie H Year 10 who cooked luscious bacon and egg rolls, poaching the eggs instead of frying
Warmest wishes, Catherine Davies Executive Principal
Safeguarding
Students are allowed to bring in medication and pain relief if it is required through the day. Parents must
complete a ‘Parental Consent Form’ (this can be found on the website under ‘Policies and Documents’ or the
student can pick one up from the reception area The medicine must be in the original packaging and kept in the
medical room. No students are allowed to carry medication on them
Child Development
A fantastic start to the term for the year 9 and 10 child development students. Some interesting discussions are taking place around growth and development. Homework has been set on SMHW and requires students to click on the link to the NHS website to gain further insight into newborn screening tests. Materials are also being added to the Google classrooms for students to access. I am extremely impressed with the engagement of all students so far but a special shout out to Emillie M in year 10 for fitting in straight away to a new class and a new course! Ellie C in year 10 for her helpfulness, contributions in class and positivity, Natalie S in year 9 for her confident and articulate answers and Liam G in year 9 for his engagement in class. Mrs J Deeprose Teacher of Maths & Child Development
Art
Introducing our Artist in Residence
‘My name is Babalola Yusuf, I’m the Artist-in-residence and
a teaching assistant at Bexhill Academy. Before this I
worked with Turner Contemporary on a child-led cultural
regeneration project called Pioneering Places. The aim of
that project was to help a class of 7 year olds develop a
master plan for their town and to commission a public
artwork to go in their community. It was a one of a kind
experience! I honestly didn’t know what I could do next
because it was so novel. I applied to be a teaching assistant because I enjoyed encouraging the children at Turner
to be innovative in their own way. That’s how I came to be here at Bexhill Academy. I had no idea that it would be
the perfect follow on to my previous experience. Working in the middle of the art room here at BA means
hopefully the students get to see me working and are encouraged to think big and innovate.
During lockdown I was able to work on more paintings and to think deeper about my work; I was able to work
more with oil paints. Bexhill Academy has given me that, the space to look, obverse and develop work in a greater
way. It’s been my dream for a long time to be able to create a multidisciplinary studio where young people are
able to have input and work on projects alongside us. I think somehow we could learn a lot from their inquisitive
minds.
Mrs Watts Director if ‘The Arts’ Music
We are already seeing some excellent musical progress in music classes. Year 7s have all established how to
perform with a ‘Brilliant Posture’ and are demonstrating this really well. They have also completed some
questions where they have actively listened to a variety of different music from different times/places/genres.
This will really help myself and Mr. Baxter plan our lessons to consider your prior knowledge and skills. The next
few weeks will see year 7s preparing for their first performance…a rap!
Year 8s are continuing to explore hooks and riffs. There have been some brilliant class performances of the
melody and bassline riff to Eurhythmics’ ‘Sweet Dreams’. Understanding riffs and melody will set all students up
nicely for composition work later in their learning. Particular congratulations go to 8Y3. Mr Baxter and myself
were incredibly impressed by your progress in the lesson last Friday. Your class ensemble was excellent – all down
to your positive attitude and focus. Brilliant!
In KS3, year 9s are starting to explore ensemble performance skills and are starting to prepare for their first
performance – we can’t wait to hear the music produced! Year 10s have been exploring the GCSE area of study
‘Traditional Music’ this week – starting off with ‘The Blues’. Year 11s are continuing to re-establish their intentions
for their composition coursework – carefully considering tonality and key.
Instrumental Lessons have started in earnest this week. It has been incredibly wonderful to hear the sound of
music filling the corridors again as students pick up their instrumental learning. We are getting quite a few new
applications in and tutors will be in contact as soon as possible. Remember, lessons are available in school for all
and application forms are available from the music department or on the website. Please do get in touch with any
questions you may have.
Extra-curricular – at this time we are limited as to what extra-curricular events we can run. We are however
looking to see if we can set up a new vocal ensemble/choir for year 7 students during a break time. Watch this
space!
Mr. Lewis Head of Music
Maths
This week it has been fantastic to see Year 11 students so focussed and hard working in Maths lessons and with
their studies at home. It is no surprise therefore that the top 20 students in the school for completion of Hegarty
Maths are all Year 11s. They also take up 85 spaces in the top 100 list!
Other year groups must also be praised, as they have shown brilliant learning and a positive attitude towards
their Maths studies. Year 7 have been delving deep into the world of Algebra and all its beauty. Year 8 have been
putting all of their skills with ratio into practice to problem solve some real life situations. Year 9 have been
exploring straight line graphs. And Year 10 have looked at enlargements and the links between length, area and
volume scale factors- not as obvious as it may first seem. Well done all and keep up the hard work!
Maths joke of the week: I saw my Maths teacher with a piece of graph paper yesterday. I think he must be
plotting something.
Hegarty Maths- Stars of the week
Figures for this week only:
Year 11 Nakita G - 9 hours Ellamay E 7.2 hours Cordelia O’R 5.6 hours
Year 10 Luke S - 2 hours Abbigail F - 1.6 hours Rhianna B - 1.5 hours
Year 9 Ella L - 2.5 hours Heidi J - 1.5 hours Ava B - 1.3 hours
Year 8 Tasha R - 1.9 hours Frank C - 1.8 hours Jessica P - 1.7 hours
Year 7 Naima E-A - 2.9 hours Leevy F - 1.9 hours Myst W - 1.6 hours
Languages
The language teachers are delighted to see you again, and we are all impressed with the excellent start made!
Year 11 have definitely hit the ground running, and Miss Cricelli is particularly pleased with Kagan P and Charlotte
C who have been giving their all in lessons. Year 7 are throwing themselves into a new language with enthusiasm
and gusto, and have handed in some amazing homework – Sophie H, Anne-Marie P and Isabelle S have all
produced wonderful work. In Year 9, some students have started their Latin and Classical Civilisation studies, and
are getting to grips with some serious grammar and discussing the relevance of myths. We’re also looking forward
to European Day of Languages, which celebrates all languages, at the end of the month. Watch out for the tutor
group competitions – prizes are on the way!
Well done and thank you to all year 10 students (& staff), let’s push on for more brilliance at every opportunity.’
Mrs Lindsay
Head of Languages Computer Science Update This week in Computer Science Year 7 have been starting to explore how to use the school network safely. All year 7s should now have their computer system logins. Their school email address is made up of their login, followed by @bexhillacademy.org (eg: [email protected]). They will need to know their email address for their Satchel account. Year 8 have been learning about variables and how they are used in programming. They have started by programming variables in Scratch and will then be transferring these skills to Python in their next lesson. They are looking forward to learning to use Python as they were unable to do this last year due to lockdown. If they want to practise at home, Python is free to download. Year 9s have been learning about computer hardware and year 10s and 11s have been adding to their learning on the CPU and Von Neumann Architecture. Mr Page has been particularly impressed this week with Aleena S and Henry B in year 11 who have done some excellent work on the CPU Fetch-Decode-Execute cycle. Mrs Morris is especially proud of the class 8Y4 for their excellent attitude towards their work this week. Alex L in year 11 has also worked brilliantly to catch up on his GCSE work after joining the school late. Steven P in year 11 has made a fantastic start to his final GCSE year. Barney C in year 10 has also been working exceptionally hard. Mrs Morris Head of Computer Science
Geography
Another great week at the academy. Year 7 have started to go on an imaginary tour around the world looking at
different continents and using their map skills. Year 8 have been looking at the different river processes and how
rivers are used in different countries. Year 9 have started to look at what an ecosystem is and examples of them
around the world. Year 10 have been investigating what happens at different plate boundaries plus specific
examples of an earthquake and will have an assessment coming up where they need to compare the effects and
responses to two they will have studies. Year 11 have been looking at river processes in depth. Students of note
in geography this week: Rebekah W- Has made an exceptional start to year 11 geography! Jessica N - year 9 -
Always very engaged, puts hand up lots, beautiful book and keen to learn. Jake C – a great start to year 10
geography. Karolina M - Year 10– fantastic class and homework. Maria W – year 8 – a fantastic start to the term!
Sarah R – year 8 – great homework. Joseph G – year 8 – a great start to the term!
Mrs Megit Head of Geography Philosophy and Ethics update
Students have continued with their positive attitude to learning and most students have full equipment for their
lessons. Year 7 have just completed an assessment so that teachers know their starting point and can help them
progress throughout the year. Year 8 students completed an assessment during their first lesson and this week
have had their assessments returned. This will enable teachers to know their starting point to support
progress. Year 9 and Year 10 students have continued with the ethics lesson on the beliefs surrounding the
purpose of sex and discussion around the law as Year 9 and 10 students are taught one lesson a fortnight.
Dr Jakes Teacher of Philosophy and Ethics Food
After a successful settling in process and getting to understand the classroom all KS3 classes have now completed
a couple of rigorous Hygiene and Safety lessons and are now ready to start practical sessions.
Over the next two weeks’ year 7 will be putting into practice the routines taught to date whilst learning the new
skills of fruit and vegetable preparation whilst making a fruit salad. The “claw and “bridge” grips will be in action
along with the required knowledge on how to prevent enzymic browning. Due to the subject being new to the
majority the students will be divided into two groups (A & B) and only one group will prepare the food each week.
Year 8 students are developing their cooking skills from last year and are demonstrating their knowledge of yeast
fermentation when making bread based mini pizzas.
Year 9 students have started on their foundation GCSE preparation with an understanding of basic nutrition and
will be again starting practical sessions with macaroni cheese.
The year 10 and 11 GCSE students have responded very well to the disruption of last year and seem to have
returned with a determined attitude to do everything to succeed. We have also started practical sessions with
these students developing more complex skills of pasta making and shaping and adapting recipes and layering.
Can I use this opportunity to remind all students that the practical sessions are reliant on the students bringing an
appropriate container with a lid that has been named. If the dish needs to go into an oven, an ovenproof dish is
also required.
Mrs Bradwell Head of Food Technology Mrs Humphries Behaviour Support Worker History It has been lovely to welcome back students to history this year with some engaging new topics for years 7 to 10
and a robust term of revision ahead for year 11. The year 7s have already settled in beautifully with some superb
prior knowledge on the Anglo-Saxons and the claimants to the throne in 1066. Whilst Year 8 have been taken
back in time to the Medieval period studying the life of a knight to support them with this terms topic on the
Crusades. Year 9 have had some incredible questions in their first few lessons on the history of medicine and have
already started to grasp the complexities of the chronology of this GCSE unit. Whereas Year 10 have been
immersed into the events of 1918 Germany studying the abdication of the Kaiser and the legacy and toll of World
War One. Finally, Year 11 have come back incredibly eager to start some key revision on their Germany unit and it
has been fantastic to see such a high level of knowledge retention on this topic. Students so far have been
fantastic overall in History, but in particular staff have mentioned; Year 11 – Christopher B for some fantastic
knowledge recall and evaluation. Year 10 - Megan C-L for such an enthusiastic energy during her history lessons.
Year 9 – Conor N for such detailed questions on the history of medicine. Year 8 – Cass C for thinking outside of the
box when it came to source evaluation. Year 7 - Harry G for some great historical questioning.
Miss Williamson and Mr Anstey Teachers of History
Careers Please remember to check the website for careers updates, especially Year 11 college virtual open events and
scholarship information http://www.bexhillacademy.org/students/careers-
I’m really looking forward to supporting Year 11 with their future plans and my diary is already looking busy with
1:1 career discussions – please email [email protected] to book!
Amazing Apprenticeships have just published the latest edition of the Parents’ Pack – please view it
here: http://www.bexhillacademy.org/students/apprenticeships
Labour Market Information (LMI) – September 2020 - Highlighting the Maritime Industry - Direct employment across the South East is around 40,000 and makes up 18% of the marine employment whilst the South West employ around 30,000 or 13% of the marine employment across the UK. See updates on the Academy website, careers page. Tracey J Holden Careers Adviser Year 7 Update
Year 7 have had a very good second week at Bexhill Academy! Once again their attendance has been exceptional
and we are very proud of them. This week Year 7 students are receiving their computer login details and school
email address during their Computer Science lessons. This will allow them to log in to Satchel to access their
homework. Tutors will make contact with parents next week to check that everything is going well for Year
7. Most students are remembering to bring their mask but a back-up mask in their bag would also be
useful. Most are remembering to bring full equipment, are on time for school and are wearing their uniform with
pride. Very well done Year 7!
Dr Jakes Learning Lead for Year 7 Year 8 Update
Year 8 have continued to show respect and their brilliant best this week. All students have been arriving to school
looking very smart and prepared for every day. Attendance has been good so far at 94.5% but there is still room
for improvement. A big well done to Mrs Stoeker’s form group who achieved 100% attendance for the first week
back.
We are also excited for Callum S who starts training once again this week for his diving team at Crystal Palace in
the hope of becoming an Olympian one-day.
Yesterday British Gymnastics invited Callum to join “Bounce for Gold” trampoline program, which aims to develop young athletes to international/Olympic level in the next couple of years. Callum accepted the offer yesterday. He is going to work with a local development club in Uckfield from now to the selection in December. That means he will do 2 days of diving and 2 days of trampolining weekly.
Hope you have a lovely weekend
Mr A Humphrey Teacher of PE and Learning Lead for Year 8 Mrs D Holter
Year 8 Pastoral Manager Year 10 Update ‘It’s been a great start for the year 10 who have quickly got up to speed with everything despite being the last
year group re-introduced back into the school. I have been able to visit several tutor times and lessons so far
including Science, maths and history. It has been great to see the students being so engaged and clearly enjoying
learning in classrooms again. The year 10s have also adapted well to the changes we have made to keep students
safe, they have embraced the sports hall as their ‘base’ during break and lunch and behaviour has been excellent.
Mr Wilkinson Learning Lead for Year 10 Year 11 Update
Another week in, and more outstanding learning opportunities for the year 11 students. This week the year 11s
started their mentoring plan with their form tutors. The whole purpose of this booklet is to prepare the students
for their summer exams and to ensure the students remain focussed on their studies. The students will be
working on these independently from home in between meetings.
In addition, year 11s have continued with their session 6 opportunity and are feeling the value of extra time staff
are giving them in Maths, Science and English.
The student leadership application deadline has passed, with an incredible 26 applications. Interviews will begin
on Thursday and Friday this week.
Mr Eldridge Learning Lead for Year 11
‘We are acutely aware that the decisions we make are a deciding factor about whether our students and staff
go home safely’
