Level 2+ Students Embrace Technology as a Learning Tool

5th March 2020webadmin webadmin

Level 2+ Students Embrace Technology as a Learning Tool 

The UCL Academy recognises the role of technology in an ever-increasing digitised society. Moreover, we want to give students the edge they need to achieve their true potential.

With the introduction of two new online learning tools, we feel a significant leap forward has been made in this quest. The first of these tools is CENTURY and is currently being used by Level 2+ students preparing for their GCSE summer exams (the programme is currently available for use in Maths, English and Science). Every student is unique and has a different aptitude for learning, so one of the major advantages of this online tool is that it adapts to each student’s skill level and lets them learn at a pace best suited to their needs. The programme design ensures that individual strengths and weaknesses are noted, and learning is adjusted accordingly. From a teaching perspective, the live analysis which forms an integral part of the programme also means teachers have complete control over the workload and greater ability to give accurate feedback and suggestions.

 

CENTURY is a programme used by students, teachers and parents, all have access to the same platform and therefore have a greater insight into what each child is learning inside and outside of the school. As a result, parents have more ability to support and direct their child than ever before. For more detailed information on how this programme works, see the following link: https://www.century.tech/explore-century/parents/

As mentioned in an email circulated to Level 2+ students and parents, special classes will be available at the upcoming consultation evening in March. These are intended to help parents understand more fully the technology and the benefits to education.

The second of the tools is Adapt (https://getadapt.co.uk/), an app that helps students organise and plan for their exams. Success in exams depends to a large extent on how well a student prepares and this programme assists with developing key details such as revision timetables and techniques. The app database gives access to every exam topic in the UK, saving students precious time and energy searching for information online. It also acts as a motivation tool, tracking progress and allowing students to see their achievements on a personal online graph. All in all, Adapt will help lower stress levels and in turn allow the student to perform at their peak.

Adapt and CENTURY are both fun and dynamic tools which have been received extremely positively by our Level 2+ students. They have certainly made teaching more relatable and will undoubtedly make a positive difference in the upcoming summer exams.

 

The UCL Academy Careers Fair – Tuesday 28th January – 5.45-7.30pm

21st January 2020webadmin webadmin

The UCL Academy Careers Fair – Tuesday 28th January – 5.45-7.30pm

We are delighted to invite UCL Academy parents and students of Levels 1+, 2 and 2+, 3 and 3+ to our 2020 Careers Fair on the evening of Tuesday the 28th of January, 5.45pm-7.30pm.

At the event, we will be joined by 40 high profile organisations representing a wide range of careers sectors. Among many others, our line-up of the evening includes British Airways, University College London (UCL), Barclays Bank, Just IT, Marriot Hotels, Transport for London (TFL), Royal Air Force, London Fire Brigade, Royal Navy, Met Police, WPP, English National Opera, Capital City Colleges, Mace Group, UKSEDS (space), University of West London, Civil Service Fast Stream and many more. So whatever career sector your child aspires to, and whether they are aiming for University or an Apprenticeship programme, there will be something for everyone.

Many of our students have imminent decisions to make about where and what they want to study next, so it’s a perfect opportunity for them to gain more information and consider their different options. We look forward to welcoming everyone to this exciting event.

 

 

The UCL Academy Winter Concert – Tuesday 10th December

4th December 2019webadmin webadmin

The UCL Academy Winter Concert – Tuesday 10th December

We are thrilled to confirm that the annual Academy Winter Concert will this year be held on Tuesday 10th December 6.30—7.30pm. It promises to be a wonderful evening showcasing a range of student work, from solo pieces and smaller groups to the larger, more established ensembles. All parents are warmly welcomed and tickets are now available on ParentPay (£4 adults, £2 young people). Doors open at 6pm – we hope to see many of you there!

The UCL Academy Celebrates Girls in Science as Students Perform Above the National Results in Science, English and Maths

22nd August 2019webadmin webadmin

The UCL Academy Celebrates Girls in Science as Students Perform Above the National Results in Science, English and Maths

The UCL Academy is delighted to announce an excellent set of GCSE results and we are extremely proud of the students whose hard work and efforts have been suitably well rewarded. Of particular note is the performance of our female students in Science, as well another set of superb results in English across the whole cohort. We look forward to welcoming a record number of returning students to the Academy for its Sixth Form this year.

On behalf of the Sponsor and Governors, the Academy’s Chair, Professor Lucie Green, sent a message of congratulations to all students and passed on her sincere thanks to staff for all their hard work and commitment to the students.

The many outstanding individual performances included:

© Kirsten Holst

Ehsan Amirzai is celebrating an outstanding set of GCSE results including 5 9s, 3 8s and one A*. His family are incredibly proud of his results and Ehsan is looking forward to starting his A Levels at the Academy in September.   

© Kirsten Holst

Miriam Sultan was thrilled to collect her results this morning which included 2 9s in Mandarin and Philosophy and 5 8s. As one of the Academy’s top performing girls, Miriam is now looking forward to studying Maths, Economics, English Literature and Government and Politics at A Level at the Academy.

© Kirsten Holst

As one of the Academy’s top progressing students, Ruhi Ahmed worked exceptionally hard to attain beyond her predicted grades. With 9 GCSEs including 5 in grades 7-9, Ruhi is excited to stay on at the Academy to take her A Levels. She said that students should always aim big but could do even better if they believe in themselves! 

© Kirsten Holst

Riyad Zedek was really pleased with his wonderful set of GCSE results which included 9 GCSEs in grades 7-9.  He is excited to start his A Levels at the Academy and has decided to study Chemistry, Physics and Maths.

© Polly Hancock: Archant

The Modern Foreign Languages faculty as well are to be congratulated for their achievements with over half of the year groups taking GCSEs in a broad range of languages including: Mandarin, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian and Arabic. The Art department performed extremely well in art, design and photography and is particularly excited to build on these successes with the Academy’s new art aptitude program beginning next year.A

Another Strong Set of A Level Results Celebrated at The UCL Academy

15th August 2019webadmin webadmin

Another Strong Set of A Level Results Celebrated at The UCL Academy

The UCL Academy is celebrating another strong set of A Level results from their largest ever cohort of Sixth Form students. In the first year that students who started at the Academy in Foundation (Year 7) finished their A Levels, the Academy is thrilled and proud to see so many students going on to study at many of the country’s most prestigious universities.

Robin Street, Co-Principal, said that “A Level results day is always a special day for the Academy as we celebrate and support our students who have worked so hard and see them head off to so many great universities”. On behalf of the Academy’s Sponsor, UCL and Governing Body, the Academy’s Chair of Governors, Professor Lucie Green also congratulated all staff and students on the excellent results and wished them all the very best of luck for their next steps, future studies and careers.

Five of the stand-out individual performances from Academy students include:

(Image by Kirsten Holst)

Paulina Gordina is heading to Imperial College London to study Chemical Engineering after achieving an amazing set of results; one A* and three As. Paulina had found studying outside of her direct curriculum areas hugely helpful to her studies and thanked the Academy’s teaching staff for supporting her with this.

(Image by Kirsten Holst)

Sabirin Abdirahman, the Academy’s very own Head Girl, is thrilled to have achieved three As and to be heading to Kings College London to study Medicine. Sabirin thanked all of the teachers for “going the extra mile” throughout her time at the Academy. She also thanked her incredible cohort of students who she was proud to represent and support.

With one A* and two As, Imran Sheikh is excited and proud to be taking up his place at Southampton University to study Medicine. He thanked the Academy’s teaching staff for all of the support and extra revision sessions that they provided adding that the “STEM tutors truly went above and beyond to provide amazing subject specific support”. 

Having achieved one A* and two As, Bengisu Loveridge Ozturk is looking forward to starting her Politics and Sociology degree at Bristol University. Bengisu said that it was her strong relationships with Academy teachers and their amazing support that encouraged her to stay at the Academy to take her A Levels.

With a passion for aeronautical science, Harry Softley-Graham is planning to study Mechanical Engineering at University College London. He praised the Academy’s amazing Engineering department for their “professionalism, support and fantastic facilities”. He was also thankful for the Academy’s UCL links which gave him fantastic opportunities to attend lectures at UCL and expand his knowledge and experiences beyond his immediate studies.

Of particular note is the Academy’s Maths teaching team and students. Nearly 50% of students achieved an A or A* in maths this year, in what was the Academy’s largest subject cohort.

All images by Kirsten Holst

The UCL Academy – A Year In Review 2018/19

23rd July 2019webadmin webadmin

The UCL Academy – A Year In Review 2018/19

Many thanks to all staff, student and parents for what has been a wonderful year at the Academy. We’ve had so many fantastic events, trips and concerts, all of which wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our Academy community. Please enjoy our review of the year which was shared with staff and students at the end of term assemblies.

Errol Simpson, 6th Form Physics Mentor, Wins an ENTHUSE Award for Excellence in STEM Teaching

10th July 2019webadmin webadmin

Errol Simpson, 6th Form Physics Mentor, Wins an ENTHUSE Award for Excellence in STEM Teaching

We are delighted and proud to announce that our 6th Form Physics Mentor, Errol Simpson, has been given an award for Excellence in STEM teaching – Post 16 at the 2019 UK ENTHUSE Celebration Awards! The prestigious awards ceremony that took place at the Royal Society in London on the 20th June celebrates the very best in STEM teaching.

Huge congratulations to Errol who is wonderful asset to the Academy and our science department.

More information on the awards is available here.

 

School of Rock – Tuesday 2nd to Thursday 4th July

1st July 2019webadmin webadmin

School of Rock!

The School of Rock is coming to The UCL Academy this week! Performance are taking place at 6.30pm on Tuesday 2nd, Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th July and doors will open each evening at 6pm. Tickets are still available for all parents on ParentPay at £5 for adults and £3 for children. We hope to see many of you there!

 

The UCL Academy Adventures in Arvon – Monday 24th – Friday 28th June

25th June 2019webadmin webadmin

The UCL Academy Adventures in Arvon 

On 24th June 2019, sixteen Level 1+ students and two teachers left Swiss Cottage and headed to Arvon, a residential writers’ course in Yorkshire, for a week.  During the week they had the chance to experiment with creative writing and meet professional writers, all the while exploring the beautiful countryside that surrounds them. You can read all about their adventures below!

http://www.uclatarvon.blogspot.com/

 

Festival Week 2019

21st June 2019webadmin webadmin

Festival Week 2019

From amazing trips and inspiring workshops to a wonderful lower school summer party, Students and staff across the Academy had a great time celebrating this year’s Festival Week. Festival Week is truly one of the highlights of our year.

Monday 10th June

Sports Day

This year’s sports day was the wettest on record! However, the resilience, grit and enthusiasm shown by students and staff who battled the abhorrent conditions won through. Unfortunately, the conditions curtailed events but we have collated the points won and we are thrilled to let you know that Orion house won. Huge congratulations to Orion!

Tuesday 11th June

Try Something New Day

Try Something New Day has become one of the highlights of the school year and it proved to be a great

day with the weather being on our side! It really did live up to its name as staff and students alike got stuck into activities they would never normally have the chance to  experience or enjoy ranging from exploring Artificial Intelligence, BMX to Kayaking. The fun activities continued within school with students undertaking a variety of workshops to learn and hone in new skills in textiles and personal leadership amongst many others. This year we were also thrilled to secure workshops from the world-renowned Courtauld Institute of Art through which students were able to work with an artist and textile designer for the day. The carousel sessions also allowed students to move between the activities listed on the next page.

It was great to see our students engage with a variety of activities throughout the day, highlighting their creativity and collaborative spirit. The work the students produced from these workshops will be displayed in reception in the coming weeks.

Level 2 Careers and Employability Skills Day

The Level 2 Careers and Employability Skills Day, followed up by CV writing masterclasses and ‘how to revise’ sessions gave the students the chance to really impress us with the maturity and ambition they have exhibited.  A range of exciting and important careers related workshops were held and run by Barclays Lifeskills and Transformation Trust team, Brightside Volunteers, and our school’s Career Advisor. These were designed to help focus the students mind on a range of possible career options including Post 16, Job Interview Skills with an input also on the Engineering Sector and the importance of professional networks/the value of role models and mentoring.

Lower School Summer Party

On Tuesday evening we enjoyed what was our most well attended Summer Party since the academy opened. At the heart of this evening is one of our most dedicated and supportive parents, Steve Currid. The evening raises money for local charities, supports the spirt of festival week and most importantly ensures our students have a hugely fun evening out with all their friends. Steve, as always, our deepest thanks

Wednesday 12th June

PSCHE Day

Students explored three key themes during the PSCHE day through various workshops and talks; personal safety, climate change and sex and relationship education. The delivery of the workshops, from both our own staff and eternal experts, was very high quality. Students had a great day and enjoyed getting the opportunity to reflect on personal, local and global issues:

“It was useful to learn about the reality of gangs because it taught us that at the end of the day, if you get involved in gangs, you are likely to be at the bottom of the pile, and all the bad stuff you’d do would catch up with you eventually.” Dejaahn, foundation

“I watched this video about when plastic gets into the sea… it affects the coral reef, which means it can get into our food chain because if fish eat the coral and we eat the fish it could affect humans. I also learnt that methane is even worse than CO2 and that’s why people are suggesting that we don’t eat cows because they produce a lot of methane.” Jason, foundation

Thursday 14th June

Whipsnade Zoo

Nearly a third of the Academy enjoyed a day at the Zoo on Thursday. Students and staff alike thoroughly enjoyed the day and students were excited to show those members of staff who didn’t get the chance to go videos of bears and giraffes and described an amazing dog that can jump “from here to here”, and wanted to go back because of the brilliant view of the whole of London!