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.
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 â 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.
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/
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 yearâs Festival Week. Festival Week is truly one of the highlights of our year.
This yearâs 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!
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.
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. Â 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.
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
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:
âIt 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 youâd do would catch up with you eventually.â Dejaahn, foundation
âI 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 thatâs why people are suggesting that we donât eat cows because they produce a lot of methane.â Jason, foundation
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!
On Wednesday 24th April, seven students (Lina Abdulrazzaq, Kelcie Mason, Sasha Mensah-Barnes, Younes Chanij, Rishi Mahtani, Anwar Ukurow, and Ibrahim El Hallili) braved the third and final competition of the year: the whole-day Debate Mate Cup, hosted at London Metropolitan University. The students were faced with tough motions and tough opposition: by the luck of the draw our team of Foundation and Level 1 students were matched with teams of primarily Year 10 students. In the first round they debated in favour of introducing a carbon tax in order to tackle climate change, making a passionate plea for the planet – but they narrowly lost the round to Oasis Academy Shirley Park. In the second round they tried to convince the opposition of the merits of introducing a three-day weekend, but Hornsey School for Girls were able to make more varied and well-explained points. The team effort and mutual support in our group of Academy debaters was fantastic though, and they still went into the third round with high spirits. Rightly so – for in the final round they argued against the motion that only violent crimes should warrant a prison sentence and out-debated the excellent team from London Academy.
The Academy’s team was also generously supportive to their chaperone who was âvolunteeredâ to be part of the show debate. Sadly Ms Philipp and the two debating champions on her team were unable to convince the crowd that students should be allowed to vote for their head teachers. At the end of the day the team left with a real sense of accomplishment and a ÂŁ10 Nandoâs voucher. Sasha and Rishi won the âbest boomerangâ competition on Instagram with a card trick!Â
Looking back: It was almost six months ago that a few representatives of the Academy’s Debate Club walked through Westminster in the rain to attend the official Debate Mate launch event in November. Since then our students have given the fine art of debating a thorough go: they learnt how to use PEEL (point, explain, evidence, link) effectively to convey an argument, how to rebut, how to strategically request points of information and how to defend either side of a motion. From the feedback they received from the judges at the last Debate Mate Cup, it was evident just how much progress they had made since their first competition at the end of January. A huge well done to all of the students!
STEAM week seeks to provide students at the Academy with a broad and varied set of experiences beyond the classroom to further engage their creative, digital and scientific education. This year, teachers at the Academy organised over 3200 student STEAM encounters across 6 schools days. These included trips, visits, workshops, lectures and competitions. This was the first year that the Academy included the Arts in the programme. This represents the high value placed on the Arts perspectives and developing creative skills.
It was great to hear Professor Lucie Green reference her background training to become an Art Therapist before embarking on her physics degree – an amazing example of the blend of skills required for success, and the power of interdisciplinary learning. This yearâs Star Gazing Party had students of all ages, parents and teachers fill the forum to hear Prof Lucie Green give a talk about our daytime star which was the source of her research.
Trips went out with students from Foundation to Level 2 to cultural institutions across London including ZSL, The Royal Observatory, The Science Museum and The Hayward Gallery. Workshops also took place looking on cyber security and coding languages. Engineering challenges included a Level 1 Make Do day where students had to create to a brief with only paper, card and self tapping screws!
While the UK economy has only grown 4.1% over the past 5 years, Camden employment in creative, digital and scientific careers has expanded by 34% (Camden STEAM commission report, 2017). We are passionate about ensuring our students have the opportunities to develop their skills and interests to prepare them for the future world of work. There were two separate events where students could meet with employers from STEAM professions – both events were designed to give students a personalised approach to careers education. The STEAM careers breakfast and a careers in Engineering evening. Students once again left with offers of work experience and internships and lots of inspiration for future career prospects.
Sarah York a Game Tester from Deep Mind had this to say to our students: âWell done, for participating in the speed networking event, your enthusiasm and ambition was apparent. Being able to put yourself out there and talk to professionals in the industry is a very useful skill to help you find work opportunities. The tech industry is a fast moving field, to increase your chances of employ-ability; make sure you are keeping up with the latest tech news in the area you are interested in. And try to motivate yourself to research and study alongside your classes. You will need to be able to self-direct your own studies when you get into the world of work. Such as, having to learn new tools on your own or learning a workflow of a company. Doing this now whilst in education is going to give you good practise, before you get into the industry. Find something you’re passionate about and put your all in and you will do great, good luck!â
Camden Secondary schools were challenged to enter 6th form students into a Titration competition. The competition was judged by UCL Chemistry Facultyâs Dr Victoria Hillborne. The competition was won by our very own L3 Gabriella Randall and Jimena Benedetto.
It is always wonderful to close the event with UCL Academyâs own Operating theatre live. Students were treated to the theatrical talents of the Science Facultyâs Rafael Alleyne and Tom Morgan. This interactive display saw a (willing!) student volunteer undergo complete dissection as students learned about the systems of the body.
Student feedback about the week was incredibly positive with many students recognising the huge efforts that their teachers put into organising the events. Thank you to all staff involved in the week both leading the events and supporting them to take place and to all the students who were so engaged throughout the week.
Â
We are very proud of the wonderful speeches that our Level 1+ students gave last night (Thursday 28th February) at the Justice evening. This event, hosted by the humanities team, is a key part of our termly celebration of learning events that we hold at the Academy.
There were some brilliant speeches covering subjects including LGBTQ issues and some of the challenges and opportunities that this generation faces. Students have been working hard all term on these speeches as part of their unit on Justice and this truly came across in their compassionate, mature and wise presentations. Many thanks to all of the parents who came along to support them.
We were absolutely delighted to welcome so many parents to our wonderful Winter Concert last night (Wednesday 17th December). The standard of performance was the highest we have ever seen and the students didnât shy away from choosing some very demanding pieces.
Huge congratulations and thanks to the staff, students and parents who supported the concert. It was a fabulous showcase of the talents of our students and a testament to their hard work throughout the term.
