Month: July 2023

And the winner is…

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This year’s House Cup competition has been fiercely contested! The House Cup is the trophy of trophies, with every other competition across the year feeding into Mr Davies’ super-computer to arrive at the final result. Every day’s attendance, every reward point, house match, inter-house competition, participant in Sports Day, commendation and contribution ultimately counts towards the House Cup total.

Sports Day is a big part of the House Cup, and this year Tudor’s dominance was finally broken! Hanover won the tug of war competition, thanks to dominant performances from their girls’ teams across the year groups. House captains Zoe and Beth lifted that trophy on Wednesday afternoon, before the final result was announced. It came down to the final two relay races for Lancaster to overhaul Tudor’s lead – by only three points! – but Katie and Erin were delighted to raise the Sports Day cup.

You can read more about Sports Day (with photos, our student newspaper, the scores and the records) on the Academy website

Following Sports Day, we were able to calculate the House Cup totals. Several other competitions had already concluded: Windsor were victorious in the Head of House Challenge and the Senior Trek, so House Captains Evie and Joe were able to receive the trophy and the shield on Thursday morning, followed by Theo and Liam for Tudor in the Academics Cup.

Finally, it was time for the main event. This year, I typed the results live into our Daily Notices Google Doc, with the students in their tutor rooms watching eagerly for the result, knowing that the winning house would process through the Academy to the Hall to receive the cup. It was a real thrill for me to actually hear the “oohs” and “aahs” coming from Windsor and Stuart as I typed into my laptop outside the Hall! But that was nothing to the cheer that went up as Lancaster House were announced as the winners, and gathered in the July sunshine to hold the cup aloft and celebrate with Mr Thomas and the returning Mrs Taylor. A great way to celebrate the end of the year!

The next three years: looking ahead

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This week, in my Headteacher’s Update letter, I announced the publication of the Academy’s new strategic plan.

The plan is designed to take us from September 2023 to August 2026, mapping our journey as a school over the coming three years. It is the result of lengthy and painstaking discussions with the governing body, built into the framework from the Lighthouse Schools Partnership and supported by our school improvement partner.

The plan has five aims:

  1. All students demonstrate excellent behaviour, effort and attitudes to learning
  2. Every student enjoys the highest quality of education
  3. The personal development programme ensures that students embody the Academy’s
    vision, values and purpose
  4. Leadership and management is ambitious and persistent in pursuit of our goals
  5. We are fully integrated into the vision, ethos, systems and structures of the Lighthouse
    Schools Partnership to the mutual benefit of the Academy and the Trust

The plan is designed around our existing vision, to set no limits on what we can achieve; our purpose, to inspire and enable young people to make a positive difference; and our values of kindness, curiosity, and determination. It focuses on the young people in our Academy not just in terms of their academic outcomes, but how we can develop them as fully rounded individuals. We plan to focus on their personal development, their behaviour and attitudes, and their wellbeing and mental health by ensuring that they feel a strong sense of safety and belonging in our learning community.

At the same time, we are also looking to our employees. We aim to ensure that our staff are well-trained so they can be the very best that they can be in their roles. We want to focus on their professional development and their wellbeing as part of our People Strategy, so that we can continue to recruit and retain the best staff to support us on our journey.

We are also looking to our role within the Lighthouse Schools Partnership. As a new school in the trust, we have much to do over the coming years to ensure we enjoy the full benefits of being part of this wider family of schools, whilst using our expertise to further strengthen the work of the trust to the mutual benefit of all involved.

As we say in the introduction to the plan, this September marks the beginning of a new phase for Churchill Academy & Sixth Form. We are excited about the future.

Activities Week 2023

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Activities Week is an important date our calendar, and a vital part of our curriculum. The week gives our students opportunities to broaden their horizons, try new experiences, develop their skills, and build their character and confidence in new settings and different environments. Through a combination of “basecamp” activities in school, day trips and residentials we provide a huge range of opportunities that students can personalise by selecting the range of activities that fit their interests and enthusiasms. We hope that students will make memories for a lifetime.

At the same time, Year 10 and some sixth form students were out on work experience, whilst a group of Year 12 students were in Cambridge getting a taste of University life with HE+ and our Duke of Edinburgh Silver participants were out completing their expeditions. These adventures extend the vision for Activities Week, by continuing to build students’ skills, experience and confidence in new contexts. As ever, we are so proud of our students for the way in which they rise to the challenges and represent the Academy so positively.

The photos below give just a sample of some of the things our students got up to over the course of the week!

This year’s Activities Week was threatened by the two days of industrial action announced by the NEU. We are hugely grateful to the teaching and support staff who made the decision to support Activities Week over the legitimate strike action, which enabled all of our planned activities to go ahead uninterrupted.