It was great to welcome so many visitors to the Academy on Wednesday evening for our annual Open Evening. Having designed and run a virtual event last year, we worked hard to open up the Academy safely to visitors so they could make an informed choice of secondary school.

In pre-pandemic times, we would gather visitors in the Academy hall to hear the perspectives of our students, and a presentation from myself. This year, to avoid overcrowding, we put that presentation online and sent it out to everyone who had pre-booked tickets in advance. It was playing in the hall anyway, so anyone could see it if they wanted to! And here it is: Sixth Form student Bethan, House Captain Pritika, and Year 7 students Jude and Frankie give their perspectives on Churchill, alongside my explanation of why I think Churchill is the right choice for secondary education.

Putting this presentation online really helped ensure a smooth flow of visitors through the Academy, with plenty of time for them to visit all the departments and learn as much as they could about Churchill Academy & Sixth Form. Our younger visitors had the opportunity to collect a sticker from every department they visited, and a complete set was rewarded with a “future student” pin badge from the Sixth Form Centre.

Open Evening is always an event that makes me feel so proud of Churchill. I feel like it “opens the lid” on our school for others to see what I see every day! Our staff, brimming with enthusiasm for their subjects and the extra-curricular programme. Our buildings, more and more reflecting the state-of-the-art learning environment we are developing. And, above all, our students. They really are amazing. Tour guides, department helpers, student leaders, and performers of every discipline turned out in huge numbers. They conducted themselves knowledgeably, confidently, articulately and with such enthusiasm about the Academy – it was wonderful to see and hear! Many of them spoke about how glad they were to be back in school after the long lockdowns of recent years, and the video below captures some of what they are looking forward to the most.

Churchill has been oversubscribed every year from 2017 onwards, with waiting lists operating in all year groups at the moment. If you were at our open evening this week, you will understand why. It’s humbling to know that so many families put their trust in us. They trust that we will help make a positive difference to the most important thing in their lives – their children. And that, in turn, their children will make a positive difference to themselves, to the Academy, and to the wider world around them. That is why we do what we do. And there’s nothing that makes me prouder.