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Ten years at Churchill

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January 2026 marks the tenth anniversary of my first day at Churchill Academy & Sixth Form. My first post on The Headteacher’s Blog was published on January 12th 2016 – along with a photograph of a much younger looking me!

2016 and 2026 – still smiling!

The past decade has been a rollercoaster ride. I can honestly say that taking on the Headship at Churchill was the best decision I ever made. Here are some of my strongest memories of the past ten years.

Our vision, purpose and values

One of the first things I worked on with the staff, students and governors at the Academy was thinking about the question: “why are we here?” I wanted to think carefully about what our school was for, what we believed in, our purpose and our values. The process took the best part of my first full year as Headteacher, and resulted in the adoption of our current values of kindness, curiosity and determination in July 2017, underpinning the Academy’s vision and purpose which were generated at the same time:

  • To inspire and enable young people to make a positive difference
  • To set no limits on what we can achieve

This careful, thoughtful work in 2016-17 has steered us well through times of challenge and times of success in the years that have followed, and will continue to guide us into the next decade.

Changes to the Academy Site

The school I inherited was in a state of some disrepair. The buildings were old, inefficient, and not fit for purpose in delivering a modern, effective education. My predecessor had begun the process of bidding for funding to replace existing buildings, and the first five years of my Headship were very much preoccupied with funding bids, architects’ plans, hard hats and building works. Over the past ten years we have:

These projects have seen close to £20 million invested in the site. The result is a modern, effective learning environment for our students. Our campus is quite transformed and – whilst we are used to it now – visitors who knew it “as it used to be” are often stunned by the changes!

A fifth house

When Churchill was founded in 1956, it had four houses – Hanover, Stuart, Windsor and Tudor – named after the royal houses of England. In 2019 we planned to introduce a fifth house to enable more tailored pastoral care and guidance to be provided and to assist with the organisation of the Academy. And so, Lancaster House was born, coming into being in September 2020 and going on to win Sports Day and the House Cup in summer of 2023. It’s now hard to imagine the Academy without Lancaster House!

Pandemic days

The COVID-19 pandemic was the most significant challenge our school, our country and our planet has faced this century. I look back now on those hectic days of March 2020 as if they were from another lifetime, as we scrambled to keep everyone safe and maintain education as the country locked down. My most vivid memories of that final day before lockdown are of lowering the Academy flag, and then walking the silent, deserted corridors of the school, uncertain about the future, but confident that we would find a way. Somehow.

And we did. We learned a lot about online learning, about the importance of connection, and about how essential community is to our success. We learned that amazing things can happen when we work together with a clear plan – and that a lack of a clear plan is a recipe for disaster. And we are still learning that the pandemic has left a long tail of challenges in our society, our economy, in education, and in the wellbeing of our young people that we are still wrestling with today.

But my overriding memory of that time is how proud I am of the staff, students, and families in our Academy community, who pulled together and achieved amazing things in the most challenging of circumstances.

Performances

Even before I started as Head at Churchill, I knew the Academy had a reputation for the amazing performing arts. I was determined to ensure that the culture of performance continued to thrive, ensuring that Churchill bucked the national trend of schools where the arts were in decline. Through countless Young Musician of the Year Competitions, Strictly Dance Fevers, Dance Your Socks Off, Christmas, Spring and Autumn Concerts, showcases, and performances of West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, Singin’ in the Rain, Little Shop of Horrors, Rock of Ages, High School Musical, Heathers, Mamma Mia!, Bugsy Malone, We Will Rock You…it’s fair to say the performing arts are in rude health still!

Academy Events

There are lots of highlights in the Academy calendar that come round every year, that I always look forward to. I’ve done ten Sports Days, ten Activities Weeks, sponsored walks, Christmas end-of-terms, Celebrations of Success, Presentation Evenings, Open Evenings…I think we do these showpiece events better than anyone! And I always look forward to them, each and every year!

Adding to the school’s history

Each Headteacher is a steward of the school they lead. I inherited the School Log Book, giving details of the opening of the school on this site in 1957, and the archive of photographs and records that document its evolution. From Churchill Secondary Modern School, the school later became Churchill Community School, a comprehensive school, Foundation school, an Academy and, more recently, part of the Lighthouse Schools Partnership multi-academy trust. Each step on the journey has moved our school forward, and I’ve been proud to be part of that story.

Lessons learned

Over the course of the past decade, I have learned so much from the wonderful staff, students and families in our Academy community, and from the experiences of ten years in charge of the Academy. I’ve learned that the vision, values and purpose of our school are strong enough to lean on in the toughest of times, and powerful enough to drive us forward to ever greater success. I’ve learned that storms make oaks take deeper root, and that – together – we can achieve anything we put our minds to.

Here’s to the future!

We Will Rock You!

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What. A. Show! The casts, crew and team behind our Key Stage 3 musical, We Will Rock You, have been working hard for months, and it certainly paid off. Over four stunning performances, the two casts, live band, and hard-working behind-the-scenes crew thrilled audiences in the Academy Hall with a hilarious, moving and exciting show that everyone involved will remember for a lifetime!

The musical uses the songs of Queen and Freddie Mercury to tell a story of a dystopian future world under the ruthless control of the Killer Queen, where musical instruments are outlawed and only manufactured, pre-programmed pop is allowed. Against this background, rebel Galileo Figaro teams up with no-nonsense Scaramouche and a ragtag team of Bohemians to reclaim “real” music and set everyone free.

The performers gave their all on stage, performing words and music with real confidence and assurance. The script was full of great humour and the audience was laughing along with them all the way through. There were also moments of real poignancy, and Oz’s solo of No One But You (Only the Good Die Young) moved me to tears. The lead performers – Joey Clausen, April Cashman, Billy Cargill and Brooke Austin – were stunning, and special mention must go to Isabelle Gilbert-Avison who stole the show as Brit! But every single performer on stage had a moment to shine, and they took it with both hands. It was a true ensemble performance.

We Will Rock You was directed and produced by our Sixth Form Performing Arts students. Directors Betty Clarke, Ash Shipton and James Hart, musical director Lily Spry, producer Gemma Seymour, dance director Bela Bradshaw, Chorus Lead Ceci Brumby and Stage Manager Adam Corke deserve a huge credit for their leadership, vision and commitment in bringing the show to the stage, and giving our younger students the opportunity to shine so brightly. They capture the essence of what student leadership at Churchill is all about!

My final word of praise must go for the live band. You would be forgiven for thinking you were listening to a professional pit orchestra, but these were Churchill students without a member of staff in sight! From face-melting guitar solos to chopping rhythms and delicate moments of tenderness, the band – under Lily Spry’s excellent direction – matched the action on stage and supported the performers brilliantly.

Many of these young performers will now be looking forward to the much anticipated Legally Blonde, our full school musical which is hitting the stage in 2026. Judging by the talent on show here, it’s going to be quite the show!

2024 in review

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As the year draws to a close, I look back on another year on the Headteacher’s Blog. Over 100,000 views, over 20,000 visitors to the blog – it’s been a busy year!

January

January began with a welcome back assembly thinking about resolutions, and an update on the work going on in the Sports Centre to get it ready for our use. The old swimming pool had been drained, and work was underway to get a floor laid as part of the Pool Hall conversion.

January is also the time of year when Year 9 are making choices as part of their options process, which is very nearly upon us once again! And I concluded the month with a blog on the influence of social media, and how we are working with our students to help them manage the online space.

February

February began with a focus on attendance as part of the government’s moments matter: attendance counts campaign. The month was dominated, however, by the preparation for and four barnstorming performances of High School Musical: On Stage at the Playhouse in Weston-super-Mare!

This fantastic production produced memories for life for the casts, crew, band, and everyone in the audiences. I will never forget it!

March and April

In March I wrote three blogs based on assemblies and ideas we had been discussing in school. I wrote about the Academy’s value of curiosity, the theme of my assembly that month, followed by a discussion of neurodiversity which was the theme of Miss O’Malley’s assembly. This was followed by a reflection on the nature of equality, and how we balance the differences between us with the need for equal opportunities. It was a very thoughtful month!

This was followed, in April, by a celebration of our successful Challenge Partners review which emphasised the huge progress we had made over the preceding year.

May

Inevitably, as the summer begins, schools turn their focus onto exams. It was no surprise, therefore, that May began with a reflection on top tips for exam technique. The sunshine also made me think about how, in the end, we make the weather as we set the climate for learning in our school. There was then the opportunity to celebrate the work of our students finding real audiences, in their artwork on display as part of an exhibition celebrating Ukrainian artist Maria Prymachenko and creating podcasts as part of North Somerset’s violence reduction partnership. The month of May ended with the traditional farewells to the Class of 2024.

June and July

The summer term began with the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, before we were into the political upheaval of the general election campaign. The summer solstice came and went and, before we knew it, we were into transition days as we welcomed our newest students to the Academy.

The final month of the academic year was spent celebrating the success of our students at their prom and ball, and in our Academy events. We also had a wonderful activities week, abroad and at home.

Then we were into the final stretch of the year, with a hard-fought Sports Day (congratulations Hanover!) and an even harder-fought House Cup (congratulations Tudor!)

September and October

And so, after a well-deserved summer break, we were back! September’s blogs celebrated our exam results and prize winners, and focused on making a positive difference, before our successful open evening and sixth form open evenings.

Later in term 1, I was reflecting on continuity through change as I looked back on the history of the school, what has changed and what remains the same. I also gave information about the Votes for Schools programme we are using, and backed up my Headteacher’s update letter with a post giving information about our curriculum – including the wider personal development programme beyond the curriculum.

November and December

November began with a moving remembrance day, before we moved into our anti-bullying week with a focus on the theme of respect. I also gave an insight into what happens on an inset day, before explaining more about careers education at Churchill around our successful careers convention at the end of the month.

And so we come right up to date, with last week’s blog post: my annual summary of books I have read this year! We are all looking forward to Christmas, and next week’s final blog post of the year will be a look inside our end of term celebrations with the traditional sixth form fancy dress parade, the eagerly-anticipated Headteacher’s quiz, and much, much more as we see the year out in style!

Thank you for visiting and reading the Headteacher’s blog this year – here’s to another bumper year in 2025!

Votes for Schools

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This year we are using a new national programme to help structure some of our assemblies and tutor times: Votes for Schools.

Votes for Schools is a weekly current affairs-based voting platform designed to engage young people in political and social issues. Through weekly discussion and voting, not only are voters learning about the world around them, but they are also becoming active citizens and preparing for participating in our democratic processes as adults.

We have already had some good discussions about cultural appreciation vs cultural appropriation, linked to Black History Month. Families can get involved too – here are some great ways for you to get involved in the conversation!

Check the website

At 4PM every Friday, the latest Vote Topic goes live! Anyone can check the Votes for Schools website – www.votesforschools.com – to see what students across the country will be debating and voting on in the coming school week.

Discuss the topic at home

Ask your child to give arguments for each side of the debate to encourage critical thinking. Votes for Schools produces a weekly Home Information Sheet that can help you with this, which you can download from their website.

Discuss the results

When the new Vote Topic is available, the national results of the previous topic will be too! Why not ask your child how they voted and why, and discuss how the rest of the country voted?

Brush up on your knowledge

You can read up on any topics your child is discussing, or has discussed, to see what your take on it is. For more sensitive topics, Votes for Schools also provide a list of useful resources and organisations where you or your child can find out more or seek support.

Share your ideas and find out more

Please talk to your child about which issues they would like to see discussed at Votes for Schools. You can let them know their thoughts, or encourage them to reach out to Votes for Schools directly. You can email them directly at secondary@votesforschools.com, or visit the website www.votesforschools.com to make suggestions or to find out more.