Intrepidus Autumn 2017

THE OFFICIAL KENSINGTON ALDRIDGE ACADEMY MAGAZINE

#9 Autumn 2017

OUR FIRST TERM AT THE ‘FASTEST SCHOOL EVER BUILT’

P R I N C I PA L’ S W E L C O M E IN THIS ISSUE...

AS Results Day

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Residential Week

3

KAA2 Opening Day

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House Competitions

5

Student Council

9

Anti-Bullying Week

10

Black History Month

11

Sadiq Khan visit

12

Performing & Creative Arts

13

Careers & Work Experience

15

World Children’s Day

20

Sports

21

German Markets Trip

22

Parent Calendar

Back page

Dear Parents / Carers, It is with a mixture of sadness and pride that I write this, the Principal’s Welcome to our Autumn Term edition of Intrepidus.

Sadness at the tragic events of 2017, which are still affecting some students and families in a range of ways, and pride at what KAA students have achieved this year, often in the most difficult of circumstances.

These achievements include, but are not limited to, our founder cohort of Year 12s achieving a fantastic 61% A-C (42% A-B) in their AS results in August, and our students maturely adapting to their temporary home and continuing to make progress with their learning.

In the pages that follow you will see photographs of Residential Week at the beginning of the Autumn term; details of the many House Competitions this term, the results of our Student Council election; the achievements of our numerous sports teams, and articles from our students about lectures, careers events and workshops they have taken part in this term. Hopefully it will give you a flavour of what our students have been doing.

As I said to students in our service last week to mark the 6 month anniversary of Grenfell, we begin 2018 not just with continued determination to move forward, but also with optimism for the opportunities and successes that we know lie ahead. Opportunities both here at KAA2, but also when we move back to KAA1, as soon as the tower is wrapped and demolition has begun and we consider it safe to do so, which we are still being advised will be in September 2018.

September 2018 will also mark KAA becoming a full school, and I feel immensely proud of the school community our final “founder” cohort will join, a community that has shown incredible resilience and Intrepidus this year.

With best wishes,

INTREPIDUS CONTRIBUTORS

Student photographers and writers this issue: Norah (8 Farah) Taif (9 Chaplin) Tyrshondre (8 Holmes) Jade (13 Fry) Heva (13 Fry) Omar (13 Tutu) Nicanor (13 Tutu) Seynab (13 Tubman) Elineth (13 Tutu) Sameera (13 Tutu) Sahra (13 Tutu)

David Benson Principal Parent Reminder: Upcoming Parents Evenings Parent Progress Meetings in the Spring Term are listed below, letters will be sent home prior to each event with further details.

Y7 Progress Meetings Wednesday 10th January, 4.30pm - 7.30pm Y9 Options Evening Tuesday 16th January, 6pm - 7.30pm Y13 Progress Meetings Thursday 1st February, 5pm - 8pm Y12 Progress Meetings Tuesday 6th February, 5pm - 8pm

KAA’S FIRST RESULTS DAY

AS RESULTS DAY

On Thursday 17th August students and staff gathered at Burlington Danes Academy to collect AS results for our “founder cohort” of Year 12s. The AS results – KAA’s first ever set of national exams – are an important milestone for the academy. 61% of all entries were graded A-C (42% A-B). We are delighted with how well students have performed. These AS grades indicate KAA is in the top 10% of UK Schools in terms of “value added”, with students getting on average one whole grade higher than national expectations.

Congratulations must go to our students for their hard work throughout the last academic year in preparation for these exams. The results will stand students in good stead for their all-important A2 exams this year.

Some individual departments enjoyed exceptional success:

    

English: 86% A-C (68% A-B) History: 80% A-C French: 88% A-C (75% A-B) Drama: 82% A-C Religious Studies: 100% A-C (89% A-B)

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RESIDENTIAL WEEK

RESIDENTIAL WEEK

On Monday 11th September over 800 KAA students set off on residential trips.

A true example of Intrepidus!

Our new Year 7s spent the week at Wide Horizons in Kent, experiencing outdoor camping, zip lines, climbing, archery, hikes, orienteering and camp fires. Year 8 visited Osmington Bay and enjoyed activities including a trapeze, giant swing, rifle shooting, hiking, fencing, archery, zip wire, abseiling, trails and beach walks. Our Year 9s spent 3 days at Merchant Hill PGL centre, with a mixed schedule of classroom lessons and outdoor activities such as aeroball, problem solving and abseiling. Year 10 were also on a 3 day residential, spent at Liddington PGL and involving curriculum lessons and outdoor activities. The entire Sixth Form spent the full week at two Oxford University Colleges - Hertford and Queens - with a full timetable of A level lessons as well as lectures from Oxford professors and a chance to explore the city. Students who remained in London for the week enjoyed a full week of activities including trips to the National History Museum, London Zoo, Feightliners City Farm, and workshops with Life Beat and Chickenshed Theatre.

Residential week was a wonderful way to begin the academic year, providing a unique chance for students to bond with their tutor group and experience new activities. A number of sixth form students were inspired to apply to Oxbridge for University following the week at Hertford and Queens College. A fantastic week was had by all!

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KAA2 OPENING DAY

OUR TEMPORARY HOME AT KAA2

On Monday 18th September we opened the doors of KAA2 to our students. Our thanks must go to everyone from Portakabin, MACE and the EFSA who contributed to ensuring staff and students moved in on schedule on the 18th September.

Justine Greening, Secretary of State for Education, visited KAA2 to see the new school site which was built in just 9 weeks. Greening met with KAA’s year 10 student councillors to find out what they thought about the new school and what it was like being hosted by Burlington Danes Academy for the last 6 weeks of term in the summer.

The Secretary of State also spoke to KAA’s Head Boy, Kai (13 Sirleaf), and Head Girl, Titilayo (13 Maathai), about their experiences at Queen’s College and Hertford College, Oxford during residential week (read more about residential week over the page!).

Our new Year 7s and Year 12s have settled in well to the new school and we are delighted to welcome them into the KAA community. Whilst we miss KAA1, staff and students have adapted well to teaching and learning in the “fastest school ever built”.

Parade Ground - 31st July

KAA2 - 18th September

Justine Greening visiting KAA2

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HOUSE COMPETITIONS

HOUSE SYSTEM 2017-2018

The house system at KAA is a focal point for the academy events, competitions and rewards.

All of our new Year 7s and Year 12s have joined one of our four houses; Angelou, Franklin, Honeyball or Pankhurst. They have already got involved in numerous house competitions (the results of which are listed below), as well as collecting merits and commendations for creativity, excellence, citizenship and resilience.

At the end of Autumn 1 Franklin were in the lead in the race for the 2017-2018 House Cup. As we go to press we await the results of Autumn 2’s main competition - House Dance, and Tuesday’s End of Term Rewards Assembly will see Mr Benson reveal the The brief for the Autumn 1 Art & Design house Autumn 2 house points total. competition was to create a piece of clothing or an accessory out of paper. The creativity shown in the range of entries was fantastic. Each entry was scored out of 10 and the total of all entries were added together to find st 1 place - FRANKLIN - 20,000 points the winning house.

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2nd place - ANGELOU - 15,000 points 3rd place - PANKHURST - 10,000 points 4th place - HONEYBALL - 7,500 points

The creators of each of the top 4 entries were invited to a celebration lunch with Mr Benson and Ms John (Head of Art) in the first week of Aut2. Franklin won 20,000 house points for first place!

HOUSE COMPETITIONS

1st place - PANKHURST - 5,000 points

2nd place - HONEYBALL - 3,750 points 3rd place - ANGELOU - 2,500 points The first interim competition of the year was a Geography Selfie competition, with students submitting their best selfies of human or physical geography.

Well done to Zebedee (8 Lewis) for his winning entry, winning 5,000 house points for Pankhurst!

1st place - FRANKLIN - 5,000 points 2nd place - PANKHURST - 3,750 points 3rd place - HONEYBALL- 2,500 points 4th place - ANGELOU - 1,250 points Well done to Franklin for winning our second annual Times Tables Rock Stars interim house competition!

1st place - FRANKLIN - 5,000 points 2nd place - ANGELOU - 3,750 points 3rd place - PANKHURST - 2,500 points 4th place - HONEYBALL - 1,250 points As part of our series of Black History Month events in October (see page 11), Mr Miller ran an interim house competition with students creating posters about influential figures in black history. Franklin won their second interim competition and collected another 5,000 points!

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HOUSE COMPETITIONS

The Science department organised a book cover competition, with the winning design awarded 5,000 house points and becoming the new exercise book cover for Year 10 science books.

The winning design (pictured on the right) was created by Leah (10 Simmons). The colourful design is now on every year 10 science book in the school.

1st place - ANGELOU - 5,000 points 2nd place - FRANKLIN - 3,750 points 3rd place - HONEYBALL - 2,500 points

1st place - PANKHURST- 17,100 points 2nd place - ANGELOU - 17,000 points 3rd place - HONEYBALL - 14,700 points 4th place - FRANKLIN - 13,750 points

Students studying A level and GCSE Psychology were put to the test by the Psychology department in our first ever interim Psychology competition in Aut2.

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Students were presented with a case study describing atypical behaviour and tasked with identifing the brain area that was damaged and thus causing the behaviour described. A huge well done to Angelou for their win!

Throughout the Autumn term the PE department have organised a series of interim sports competitions, including football, hockey and crosscountry. The points from each competition were added together to give a final score for Interim House sports in the Autumn term.

The winning house - by just 100 points - was Pankhurst, with Angelou coming in a close second.

We look forward to more interim competitions from the PE department next term!

1st place - ANGELOU - 5,000 points =2nd place - HONEYBALL- 3,750 points =2nd place - FRANKLIN - 3,750 points =2nd place - PANKHURST- 3,750 points

HOUSE COMPETITIONS

Monday 27th November to Friday 1st December was our fourth Charity Week at KAA. Every year each house picks a charity and has one day to raise as much as they can for that chosen charity. This year students ran a huge range of events and activities to raise money for Crisis (Angelou), Family Action’s Grenfell Community Service (Franklin), Great Ormond Street Hospital (Honeyball) and Scope (Pankhurst).

Fundraising ideas included those now traditional - such as Angelou’s KAA’s Got Talent show - to new ideas such as Honeyball’s sale of hand painted house mugs (pictured left). Other events included cake sales, staff versus student football, minecraft, sponsored runs, and a Franklin ‘rave’ in the drama studio.

As is traditional, the total money raised by each house during Charity Week will be announced at the End of Term Awards Assembly, and as we go to press the final amount raised for each charity is yet to be revealed. After the end of term assembly this will be shared on our website!

Thank you to all our parents and carers who supported Charity Week by baking cakes or providing prizes for competitions.

As part of Charity Week Angelou hosted their annual KAA’s Got Talent show, and the quality of performances was - as every year - fantastic. The winning performance, sung by Sahara (8 Holmes), Mia (8 Holmes), Saffron (8 Lewis), Alanna (8 Holmes), Taleeya (8 Radcliffe), Rolyn (8 Lewis), Sofia (8 Moore), Kayla (8 Moore) and Ahlam (8 Holmes), was a rendition of Emeli Sandé’s Read All About It.

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STUDENT COUNCIL

2017-18 STUDENT COUNCIL ELECTIONS

On Monday 12th November the election process for our 2017-2018 student council began. It was a three week process involving candidate applications to Directors of Learning, as well as campaigning and elections speeches before election day.

Last year’s student council successfully liaised with the Senior Leadership Team to secure more time in tutor time to prepare for House Competitions, a girls’ only MUGA day at KAA1, and a school shop and more seating and basketball hoops at KAA2. The aims of the student council are clear; to give a voice to the students of KAA, to have a structured link between the Senior Leadership Team and the student body, and to provide valuable leadership and communication skills to the students elected. The student council is the voice of the students.

Following a week of campaigning, including election speeches during Year Assemblies from Monday 20th to Thursday 23rd November, the student body took to the ballot box to vote in their new student council for the academic year on Friday 24th November.

We are pleased to announce the 2017-2018 student council are:

The student council will meet with members of the Senior Leadership team on a weekly basis during tutor time to raise comments and requests from the student body. We look forward to reporting the work of our student council throughout the year - check our website for the latest news.

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ANTI-BULLYING WEEK

ANTI-BULLYING WEEK 2017

From Monday 13th to Friday 17th November KAA celebrated Anti-Bullying Week, with each day focusing on a different topic; racism, homophobia and trans awareness, cyber bullying and online repercussions, religious equality, and appearance. Anti-Bullying Week at KAA is delivered through PSHE, tutor time activities, assemblies and break and lunch time activities.

This year’s activities culminated in a playground karaoke concert (pictured below) during Friday lunchtime celebrating being brave and proud of who are. A very uplifting end to an activity filled week!

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BLACK HISTORY MONTH

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Black History Month was celebrated during October with form time activities, PSHE lessons, and extra curricular activities, as well as a focus throughout the curriculum during lessons. For example, Mr Edwards planned a very creative maths lesson about the contribution to maths by people of African origin. Teachers also displayed their black heroes on their classroom and office doors, allowing staff and students to have enriching conversations about different influential figures.

During break and lunch times students completed a black history month treasure hunt and the film club celebrated Black History Month each week throughout the month. Finally, there were some fantastic entries in the Black History interim competition, notably from Parisa (9 Matisse), Salvina (8 Grey-Thompson) and Samarah (8 Hamilton) who demonstrated brilliant creativity in their posters.

The highlight of the month was poet John Agard’s surprise visit to speak in English lessons. The GCSE anthology poet John Agard visited students across KS3 and KS5. Agard donated some signed books to the library which were given to Black History Month competition winners!

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MAYOR OF LONDON VISITS KAA

LONDON MAYOR SADIQ KHAN VISIT

On Monday 27th November, London Mayor Sadiq Khan visited KAA to speak to students about aspirations, overcoming adversity and his journey to the Mayor’s office.

The Mayor spoke to 230 KAA students as part of Speakers for Schools’ programme of aspirational talks for young people, as a part of their work helping nearly 1000 state schools access influential, eminent figures each year for talks that encourage and inspire students of all backgrounds in their future ambitions.

Following the talk, students were given the opportunity to put their questions directly to the Mayor in a Q&A session. The Mayor shared his ‘London story’, having grown up first-generation British in Tooting and worked as a lawyer before becoming a politician, and talked about how he sees London as the ‘Greatest City on Earth’, with opportunities around every corner.

Sadiq Khan said: “If you work hard, and you’re given a helping hand then you can achieve anything. I want all young Londoners to be able to fulfil their potential and it was great to hear from students at the Kensington Aldridge Academy today. With their enthusiasm and work ethic, I’ve no doubt that they have bright futures ahead of them.”

The talk formed part of our sixth form lectures series, which encourages our sixth form students to think aspirationally about their future education and career pathways. Past speakers include Adam Balon (co-founder of Innocent), Sue Berelowitz (Former Deputy Children’s Commissioner for England) and Ted Young (Metro Editor).

For this special occasion, 40 students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 joined the sixth form to hear the Mayor of London speak.

Jade (13 Fry) introduced Khan before his talk and later wrote: “The whole of the Sixth Form cohort very much enjoyed Sadiq Khan’s visit to KAA. He was able to personally connect and inspire many of us through articulating his own life experiences - growing up on an estate, the influence of his working-class parents and teachers as well as his career in law and politics.

The main message of his speech was that no matter what our positions in society, or the background we come from, there are no limits to any of our ambitions. All we need is determination and a helping hand. That helping hand could be anything, from work experience opportunities to university summer schools. Sadiq Khan clearly demonstrates how we should not limit ourselves or our ambitions, and that achieving success begins with making the most of our education. Overall, many of the students were truly inspired by Sadiq Khan and hope that such accomplished speakers continue to visit KAA.”

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PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS

KAA CHOIR PERFORMANCES

On Tuesday 29th November the KAA Choir travelled to St James’s Church, Piccadilly to perform at The Fayre of St James’s, a Christmas concert fundraising for The Felix Project.

The pupils performed ‘Winter Wonderland’ and ‘What About Us’ beautifully, and were invited to stay to watch the rest of the concert, featuring readings by Stephen Fry and Stephen Campbell Moore as well as musical performances from Tom Chaplin (of Keane fame), Okiem and Ellie Goulding. Hiba, Sam and Angelli from Year 13 also performed acapella on the red carpet, as the guests arrived!

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On Tuesday 5th December the KAA Choir travelled to St John’s Smith Square to perform at Place2Be’s Christmas Carol Concert.

The pupils introduced the concert by performing ‘Coventry Carol’ in three-part harmony and ‘Winter Wonderland’. The rest of the evening featured readings by Patricia Hodge, Greg Wise and our own Hiba and Sameera, as well as a speech from David Benson focusing on Place2Be’s relationship with KAA. The choir also enjoyed musical performances from Margaret Keys, Sansara Chamber Choir and a brilliant gospel choir to close the evening!

GCSE ART TRIP

On Monday 6th November George Clarke from Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces visited the DT department to work with students on sustainable buildings. It was a fantastic opportunity for our students interested in architecture and design - many thanks to Ms Ormsby for organizing the sessions!

CHRISTMAS CONCERT

PERFORMING & CREATIVE ARTS

GEORGE CLARK VISIT

On Friday 15th December, students, staff, family and friends gathered for the KAA Christmas Concert at the Burlington Danes Dennis Potter Theatre.

The audience were treated to performances from the GCSE band, the drama club, KAA Choir, the KAA Intrepidus dance troupe, a Christmas reading written by Sam (13 Tutu). It was a fantastic showcase of talent and creativity amongst our students.

Thank you to all of those who enjoyed us on a cold winter evening!

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CAREERS & WORK EXPERIENCE

STUDENT AMBASSADOR VISITS

Academic societies provide our students with the opportunity to broaden their subject knowledge outside of the A level curriculum and take part in activities they wouldn’t normally have the chance to during lessons. This includes hearing from a range of external speakers throughout the year, from visitors working in particular sectors, to university students studying a relevant subject.

This term, students in the psychology, history, art installation, geography and English societies all heard from student ambassadors from a range of London universities.

The ambassadors spoke about their experience of undergraduate study and what university life is like, and were able to answer any questions our students had about higher education.

The psychology society were visited by third year King’s College psychology student, Anushkaa Pangam. Anushkaa spoke passionately about her love of psychology and the exciting experiments she had the opportunity to take part in as an undergraduate student at King’s. One Year 13 student, who already has an offer to study psychology at King’s, said that after hearing from Anushkaa she had decided on King’s as her first choice university!

SKILLS FAIR LONDON TRIP

On Friday 24th November the whole of Year 12 travelled across London to attend the Skills London careers fair at the ExCel Centre in Docklands. The was a chance for our students to find out about the many different options open to them after Sixth Form, from apprenticeships to higher education.

Students were able to find out what it’s like working in a wide range of career sectors through chatting to representatives from different industries. Our Year 12 students came away from the event loaded up with leaflets, free pens and, hopefully, some great career ideas for their life after KAA.

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CLINICAL SKILLS WORKSHOPS In November 3 groups of students in years 8 and 10 undertook a programme run by the Outreach for Medicine team at King’s College London. Current medical undergraduates taught students how to take blood, suture a wound and measure blood pressure, using models.

Our students practiced these skills giving them an insight into the type of tasks they would have to do if they studied medicine at universities.

CAREERS & WORK EXPERIENCE

SCHOOLS CHALLENGE PROGRAMME Over the course of the Autumn term 14 of our Year 9 students have taken part in the Schools Challenge Programme. Run by Imperial College in collaboration with J.P. Morgan, the Schools Challenge is focused on helping Year 9 students so they can make informed decisions on educational subject options during a crucial time in their academic career. The programme aims to inspire students to think about jobs and careers involving science, technology, engineering and maths skills.

Students spent time at a Maker Space to design and make a prototype, supported by mentors from J. P. Morgan to help create a business plan and pitch.

This involved visits to Imperial College, Stadium House Makerspace and the Science Museum over the autumn term. The programme culminated in a final during which our students pitched their ideas to a panel of judges alongside all the participating schools.

Three of our sixth formers, Omar (13 Tutu), Sam Manning (13 Sirleaf) and Julia (13 Attlee), and Year 10 Rene (10 Balon) also took part in the Makerspace Challenge at Imperial College. Omar writes about why he would recommend Makerspaces to other budding designers or engineers below.

The Makerspace Challenge - by Omar (13 Tutu) The Makerspace Challenge, hosted by Imperial College, teaches a range of different skills such as 3D computer design, 3D printing, laser cutting and much more. The challenge is to identify and solve a real life problem by designing a product or device that stops or prevents this problem from occurring.

The program is designed to stretch your creativity and imagination, with the new makerspace facilities meaning there are few limitations when creating your product. This is evident by the variety of different designs constructed this term. Products have ranged from drones and generators to card shufflers. The makerspace challenge is also a place where you can learn a wealth of information about engineering as a career. Most of the staff are either engineering students themselves or come from an engineering background, so are keen to support you in making your design successful.

Rarely do you find a programme that genuinely allows you to create what you want, with virtually no limitations. As a KAA student who has taken part in this 10 week program, I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in design or engineering.

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CAREERS & WORK EXPERIENCE

INTO UNIVERSITY - CAREERS IN FOCUS

On Friday 2nd December, 20 sixth form students travelled to the offices of global financial services company, Nomura, in central London. The event saw them take part in an exciting business simulation game, led by IntoUniversity and supported by Nomura employees.

The students were tasked with putting together a bid to become the host city for the fictional ‘Global Games’. The two groups, ‘Madrid’ and ‘Chicago’, were given a schedule of meetings to attend, where they had to present their plans to the ‘Global Games Committee’ (GGC). Students were responsible for different aspects of the bid depending on which role they chose for themselves at the beginning of the day. For example, the Social Media and Brand Manager worked together to thrash out their city’s marketing strategy, which they then pitched to the GGC, who often had some tough questions regarding the group’s plans!

After a round of meetings, the two groups went head to head in a debate, with each city attempting to convince the GGC that they deserved to host the competition. After this, the students put together a performance to give the committee a taste of what each city’s opening ceremony would look like. The students came up with some interesting ideas, including traditional Spanish dancing and an acrostic poem.

In the end, the Global Games Committee decided that Madrid had put together the most convincing bid, awarding them the honour of host city. However, both the IntoUniversity and Nomura staff were really impressed with the performance of both teams, commenting on the enthusiasm and maturity shown by all our students.

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Nicanor (13 Tutu) – Work Experience at Snupps app development company “Over the summer holiday, I was fortunate enough to gain a work experience placement with Snupps, an online inventory/organisation application with a social networking aspect. During my time at the small office in High Street Kensington, I worked alongside both the marketing team and the development team, where I researched rival companies and completed in depth bug-testing on the Snupps app. From my two and a half weeks of experience, I have gained a deeper understanding of the tech sector and all of the possible career paths available to me.

Finding the work experience placement itself was the hardest, yet rewarding, part of this whole process. I initially begun with a list of forty companies I found through Google Maps, as travel distance was an important factor. Through researching each of the companies I was able to see which ones I found interesting and therefore whittle my list down to twenty-two. After this came the laborious task of emailing each company a speculative enquiry concerning the possibility of a placement. My advice to students looking for work experience would be to not expect a reply from every company; out of the twenty-two I contacted, only fifteen replied, with only one, Snupps, inviting me to a meeting.”

Heva (13 Fry) - Ashurst Law work experience & Debate Chambers Summer School

CAREERS & WORK EXPERIENCE

SIXTH FORM WORK EXPERIENCE

“During the summer I took part in a work experience placement at Ashurst, a leading international law firm, where I was supervised by the Managing Partner in the general corporate department. Looking at corporate cases introduced me to how law is integrated within large companies and I learnt so much about acquisitions, merging companies and disputes between corporations and individuals. This broadened my knowledge of law whilst enabling me to experience professional working life in a firm. I also had the opportunity to speak to many successful lawyers about their work and career.

I gained further law related experience by participating in the Debate Chambers Summer School. The summer school involved debating, lectures on different areas of law (e.g. Jurisprudence) and a mock trial. Jurisprudence (the theory and philosophy of law) particularly appealed to me as I was able to incorporate my knowledge of A level Philosophy and Ethics. Furthermore, the mock trial featured elements such as prosecution/defence opening speeches, examination-in-chief, cross-examination and the closing speech. Trying to construct an effective argument to win the mock trial certainly improved my confidence, rhetorical skills and ability to work efficiently in a team.

Completing independent research also strengthened my ability to examine and analyse information.

Overall, these experiences provided me with a better insight into law, giving me greater confidence in my decision to study law at university.”

Seynab (13 Tubman) - Imperial Health Care Trust Medical Work Shadowing

“During the summer term, I spent a week alternating between the Paediatrics Infectious Disease department, Paediatrics ICU and the Accident and Emergency department at St Mary’s hospital. The first two days were spent on the Paediatrics Infectious Diseases ward shadowing the lead consultant as he did his rounds. I was encouraged to talk to the patients and ask them about their stories.

Many of the patients had been in hospital for a long time and shared their experiences with me. When I was in the A&E department I very quickly noticed how understaffed the hospital was, especially the psychiatric department.

Some patients had been waiting for hours as there were no beds for them on the psychiatric ward. They were unable to go home as the doctors had been forced to section them under the mental health act for their own safety. The doctors then explained to me that this was a daily occurrence and sometimes almost half of patients at the hospital were there for mental health reasons.

Overall, the experience made me realise that I want to pursue a career in the medical field and I am now applying to study Radiotherapy. Taking part in work experience is crucial when deciding what you want to study at university and what to pursue as a career. It provides a great opportunity to speak to people working in a certain field, giving you a first-hand view.”

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CAREERS & WORK EXPERIENCE

Elineth (13 Fry) - Future Foundations & Global Social Leaders Programme

“Before being introduced to Future Foundations, I was just a normal sixth form student at KAA. After this summer, the way that I think has changed in ways that I couldn't have ever imagined.

At the beginning of the summer, I was offered the opportunity to help at the Future Foundations residential for KAA’s new Year 7 cohort. I did not consider signing up at first as, having only learnt English 2 years ago, I did not feel confident enough. However, I finally decided to take the risk and go on the 3 day residential to Charterhouse, which was part of the West London Summer Programme created in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The residential was a fantastic experience that both welcomed the new Year 7 students into the KAA community and increased my own confidence and self-awareness.”

“Not only did this experience teach me many things, it also led to another fantastic opportunity; taking part in the Global Social Leaders Programme at Wellington College. The GSL programme gives young people the chance to change the world for the better through social action and personal development. This experience changed my perception of the world as I met many people from different backgrounds and cultures. I also learnt to stop creating imaginary barriers that prevent me from being my true self.

My relationship with Future Foundations did not end at becoming a social leader. It continued as I formed a fantastic network of friends from different parts of the world. In October, Future Foundations gave me the opportunity to sit with the likes of Nobel Peace Prize Winners Ban Ki-moon and Martti Ahtisaari at the much anticipated #Walktogether event organised by The Elders and the British Council. The Elders is an organisation of public figures founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007 who work together for peace and human rights. During the panel discussion, we heard about different types of social action that many other young people are doing in their countries. This made me think about how I can teach others to embrace their differences. As a result, myself and another KAA student, Hajar (13 Sirleaf), have set up a GSL society for Year 7 students at KAA. But now I only have a question for you; what are you doing to change the world we are living in? It does not need to be something big, it could be anything from picking up a piece of paper in the streets to creating a movement in your local community. Right now, I just want to tell you to not give up. Keep going and you will see how starting with small things can lead to a big difference.”

Sameera (13 Tutu) Mindshare Academy, media and advertising mentoring scheme

“I decided to apply to the Mindshare mentoring scheme after an interesting talk during PSHE from the managing director of Mindshare Academy, Patrick Philpott. I was full of questions about the work done at Mindshare and discovered things about the advertising and marketing industries that I had never known before! As a psychology student, I was so interested in the psychology behind advertising and the logistics of planning where advertisements should go in order to capture specific target audiences.

The application process took place via email, during which applicants were asked to answer three questions; 1. What is your biggest inspiration currently?

2. Why do you aspire to work in the media?

3. If you were a brand, what brand would you be and why?

I was pleased to receive an email of acceptance and really excited for the next stage; Ignite.

Ignite was a two day programme where applicants from schools across the UK were put into groups of 4-7 to come up with a campaign for the new Maze-Runner film. Over the two days, we had to consider the challenges of a national campaign and create innovative ways to raise awareness of the new film. At the end of the second day, we pitched our campaigns to a panel. It was extremely competitive and all the group’s presentations were of a high standard. The two days were being observed and assessed each step of the way. They wanted candidates with creativity, passion and a willingness to learn.

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The following week was a waiting game, waiting to hear whether we had got through to the mentoring programme.

I was so grateful to hear that they had seen my “energy and enthusiasm”, and I am currently organising my first mentoring session with the client director of Mindshare!”

CAREERS & WORK EXPERIENCE

Sahra (13 Tutu) - Nuffield Research Placement

“During the summer I completed a work experience placement with NHS Public Health England, organised through the Nuffield Research project. After attending the biomedical society this opportunity was advertised to us and I decided to apply as I knew work experience is a requirement for the universities I was applying to. In order to get the placement, I had to complete a form and write a statement about myself.

After attaining the placement, I was told what I would be doing during the placement. For example, I had to conduct a scientific investigation and write up my findings, as well as create a poster summarising my conclusions.

My project was titled ‘Do donors appropriately report ill health after giving blood?’ I was able to look at a vast data set and extract key information on whether patients had experienced any illness after donating blood, from catching a cold to more severe illness such as chest infections. I was also able to examine demographic differences.

For instance, the 17-24 age bracket did not tend to report illness whereas the over 65 age group would report more frequently. In addition to this, I met and spoke to many different professionals, such as doctors, nurses, biologists and chemists.

I would definitely recommend any year 12 to take part in this project as there are so many advantages. Firstly, if you want to pursue a career in science it would definitely be beneficial as you will get to create your own project and investigate a topic you are really interested in. As I wanted a project based on blood I was matched perfectly with the largest blood donation organization in the UK. Furthermore, this is a great addition to your personal statement as you will have valuable experience to talk about outside of your academic studies.”

GOLDMAN SACHS WORLD CHILDREN’S DAY On Monday 20th November, 14 year 9 students went to Goldman Sachs to learn about World Children's Day. We learnt about many countries where children face obstacles in accessing education and having a normal life.

The three countries we learnt about were: Djibouti, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea. These three countries have children that face problems in their day to day life. Alongside the Goldman Sachs mentors were some DebateMate mentors who helped us with our pitching skills. This was all in preparation for our pitch to the “UN” to see which countries get the money as part of charity. The money was given to all three countries.

Before we actually went on this trip we were told that there was going to be a very influential person who had a strong passion for charity and was very famous. Whilst on the coach my classmates and I were discussing who this person could be and none of us knew. After pitching to the “UN”, this person was announced to us and it was David Beckham! We were all excited and over the moon to meet him. He sat down with all the teams and explained how he felt about these countries. He told us how he went to these countries personally to see the children in those countries.

This was all part of his charity with UNICEF called the 7 fund. My peers and I got to ask him some questions about these countries and why he chose these countries. His answer to this was “These countries are countries that face massive problems and aren’t really spoken about in the news.”

After this my classmate Maya (9 Matisse) and I went up to the lectern and introduced David Beckham to the stage to give an interview to the employees at Goldman Sachs. It was a nerve racking but fun at the same time. Backstage we got to talk to David Beckham and Jim Esposito, a senior partner at Goldman Sachs.

They asked how school was and what we do in school. David Beckham even said to me “You have a great future ahead of you!”

By Taif (9 Chaplin)

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SPORTS

AUTUMN TERM SPORTS STORIES

KAA students are rapidly increasing our academy’s profile in the indoor rowing scene. As previous rowing champions, our recent domination saw our champs team up with some of Team GB’s 2012 Olympic gold medallists: Kathrine Copeland, Oliver Wynne-Griffiths, Vicky Thornley, Gemma Hall, Jess Leyden and Georgia Francis.

The students were amazed and felt privileged to rub shoulders with these amazing athletes. They were given an opportunity to ask some brilliant questions including, ‘How is your diet? Are you allowed to eat McDonalds?’

– all to gain a better understanding of what it takes to be a top athlete.

Team GB organised a relay competition with four teams consisting of six rowers. Each individual had to row for 30 seconds then perform a quick and smooth transition off and on the rowing machine. The students loved the competitiveness of the event. Some students were highlighted for being ‘natural rowers’ displaying great technique and power.

Thank you Team GB and we look forward to working with you again in the near future!

On Tuesday 14th November, a group of our students were rewarded for their excellence in PE this term with a trip to Wembley Stadium to watch the Lions host five time World Champions Brazil.

The students watched some of the world’s most gifted footballers, Neymar, Coutinho, Loftus-Cheek and Rashford showcase their skills. Despite the game being a stalemate which ended in a 0-0 draw, the atmosphere was electrifying. The students soaked up the atmosphere produced by the Samba Band beating their drums matched by the crowd bellowing God Save the Queen.

Well done to all the students for their fantastic contribution in PE during the Autumn term.

On Saturday 24th September 10 Students from Years 8-10 took part in the Foreshore Festival at Putney. The day started off with an early meet to travel to the Putney Embankment Pier where the students boarded The Gloriana.

This Royal Rowbarge was named the Gloriana as a lasting legacy to mark Her Majesty the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Our students had the once in a lifetime opportunity not only to embark on the boat, but also to row it, with the £600 handcrafted oars! The students showed great resilience in trying to work in unison as a crew of 16 with these heavy oars.

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The second part of the day saw the students take part in a lesson introducing them to fixed seat rowing. The students soon got coordinated and were flying down the Thames. All involved had a fantastic day, and are looking forward to continuing rowing in our enrichment programme.

By Nora (8 Farah)

GERMAN MARKETS TRIP

GERMAN TRIP TO KÖLN!

From the 30th of November to the 2nd of December, 39 Year 8 students were sent on a trip to Köln in Germany and what a fun experience it was!

On the day we left - or very early morning - we went on a coach ride and a Eurotunnel ride that lasted many hours, and by the time we got there, we were all tired. But that wasn’t the end of our first day, nein - soon after we unpacked, we went on a small walk to get a feel for the sights. Even if it was a small portion we saw, it was still nice to see rivers and pathways nearby!

Ah, but even after all that, it still wasn’t the end!

We still went to see the first of five Christmas markets on our journey. Oh my, how beautiful the first market was, with lights shining over small stalls all selling individual items that dazzled us all! Most of us started buying souvenirs for our family so they could have a taste of Germany.

On the second day, all of us were ready to buy some lovely items and food for our family and for ourselves, of course. We went to 4 markets, all selling amazing things - so amazing, that some of us ran out of money by the end of the day! That’s how good it was.

Oh, and I shouldn’t forget - the highlight everyone spoke of: The Lindt Chocolate Factory. It was quite stunning. We got to see how chocolate was made in machines, we got to sample melted chocolate on crisp wafer sticks, and we got to buy an assortment of chocolates that amazed many. There were even chocolate smart phones and board games made of chocolate or had chocolate pieces in them.

Chocolate heaven! Almost every child’s dream.

On the very last day, our leaving day, we went to our final Christmas market, where there was a lot, and I mean a lot, of sweets and food from what I and others saw.

As well as that, we saw a Cathedral that I have trouble remembering the name of, but no trouble remembering how beautiful it looked, despite it’s age.

As soon as we’d all seen and bought what we wanted, we all went on the coach and said good bye to Germany and went back to London to reunite with family and tell them our experiences in a foreign country and how enjoyable it was.

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Spring Term Parent Calendar Date

Event

Time

Tuesday 2 - Wednesday 3 January

Staff Training Days (school closed to students)

All day

Thursday 4th January

Spring 1 Term begins

8.40am

Thursday 4th January - Friday 5th January

KS5 Assessment Point 3

All day

Monday 8th January

Y8 Girls HPV Vaccinations

All day

Wednesday 10th January

Y7 Parents’ Progress Meetings

4.30pm - 7.30pm

Thursday 11th January

Fundraiser - The Print Room

5pm - 9pm

Tuesday 16th January

Y9 Options Evening

6pm - 7.30pm

Monday 22nd January - Friday 26th January

SPR1 Revision Week - KS3/4

All week

Monday 29th January - Friday 2nd February

SPR1 Assessment Week - KS3/4

All week

Thursday 1 February

Y13 Parents’ Progress Meetings

5pm - 8pm

Monday 5th February - Friday 9th February

SP1 Review Week - KS3/4

All week

Tuesday 6th February

Y12 Parents’ Progress Meetings

5pm - 8pm

Friday 9th February

End of Half Term Assembly

2pm - 3pm

Monday 12th February - Friday 16th February

Half Term Holiday (school closed to students)

All week

Monday 19th February

Staff Training Day (school closed to students)

All day

Spring 2 Term begins

8.40am

Monday 26 February - Friday 2 March

KAA Literacy Festival

All week

Thursday 1st March

World Book Day

All day

KAA Grenfell Memorial - The Tabernacle

TBC

KS5 Assessment Point 4 (Mocks)

All week

Monday 12 March - Friday 16 March

SPR2 Revision Week - KS3/4

All week

Monday 19th March - Friday 23rd March

SPR2 Assessment Week - KS3/4

All week

Monday 26 March - Friday 30 March

SPR2 Review Week - KS3/4

All week

Thursday 29th March

End of Term Rewards Assembly

11am - 12.30pm

Friday 30th March - Friday 13th April

Easter Holiday (school closed to students)

All week

Monday 16 April

Staff Training Day (school closed to students)

All day

Tuesday 17th April

Summer 1 Term begins

8.40am

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Tuesday 20 February th

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Saturday 3 March Monday 12th March - Friday 16th March th

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