The music festival under the canopy has kept us entertained this week – including a guest spot from the staff band!

It has been a week of transitions at the Academy. We welcomed current Year 6 students – next year’s Year 7 – for their induction day on Tuesday and their drama day on Wednesday. The new cohort really impressed staff and students alike with their kindness, curiosity and determination as they overcame any lingering nerves to settle in well to the Academy. The threw themselves into their lessons and activities with real enthusiasm and certainly made a great first impression!

The drama day was also really impressive. Our Year 10 student leaders did a terrific job of guiding our newest students through their activities as they developed their skills and completed their devising task, leading to some really impressive performances.

On the same day, we also welcomed new staff into Churchill for their induction. We have some fantastic colleagues joining us in September, and I’m delighted to confirm that all teaching vacancies have filled with fully qualified, expert teachers who will be a great asset to the school and to our students. Many of them were able to stay on and meet the parents of next year’s Year 7s at our parent information evening the same night – despite the warm evening, we had a fabulous turn-out and really lovely feedback from families.

Finally, on Thursday, we welcomed next year’s Year 12 students for their induction. Now in their well-deserved post-exam relaxation season, it was a helpful reminder for our new Sixth Form students of the expectations and preparation required for a positive start to A-levels in September. Needless to say, they were an impressive bunch!

Meanwhile, our current students were excelling themselves with three days of summer music in the festival under the canopy, Duke of Edinburgh teams out on their expeditions, and Strictly Dance Fever wowing the crowds on Thursday evening. Our future staff and students have so many great opportunities to look forward to! And after this week of transitions, I feel like I have a really good understanding of the students and staff who will be joining us in September, enriching and strengthening our Academy even further.