why choose Leigh Academy Halley?

Our Small Schools

Our small schools approach ensures that every student is known, understood and valued as an individual. They are made up of students from Years 7-11 and students are in a tutor group within their own year. Our small schools reflect the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) as a driving force across our academy; each small school being named after an inspirational leader in that particular field: (Annie) Easley, (Alan) Turing, (Rosalind) Franklin and (Stephen) Hawking.

Each small school has approximately 250 students, its own Head and Deputy Head of School, Director of Progress, Small School Manager and Administration Officer and a dedicated team of tutors. Every student is set challenging targets and all of the schools are comprehensive in their makeup.

Our small schools form strong relationships with students and families and are a source of both academic and pastoral support. They are the first port of call for any individual and families value having a specific named contact for communication.

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Our Provision

The academy benefits from major investment and refurbishment as a part of Leigh Academies Trust. Students are able to enjoy their global education, well suited for the 21st century, against the backdrop of an historic, celebrated building. Our facilities enable students to thrive, learning the very best of what has been thought and said. We want our students to experience their learning using quality resources and as such we have excellent IT facilities, spacious science laboratories, a modern sports centre, onsite playing fields, and new design and engineering centre with industry standard equipment. 

Students are able to enjoy their breaks and lunches in our academy restaurant or outside in designated spaces that provide comfortable social spaces. We have a space exclusively for Year 7s to use to support them in their transition to secondary school. Our well stocked library ensures our students have access to reading for study and leisure. 

There has been an unprecedented investment in our digital infrastructure to ensure that students are able to access information and online platforms to support their learning.

Our curriculum prepares students to be the very best and compete with the very best. Our commitment to inspire students so that they can learn and achieve is delivered daily and inspires students to be inquisitive, eager to find out more. We want all of our students to leave with a comprehensive understanding of the world around them in order for them to compete on the global stage.

The curriculum is shaped by, and deeply rooted in, the strongest available evidence about how students learn and retain knowledge in the long term. We value the uniqueness of each subject we offer. We are committed to students engaging deeply and comprehensively with both substantive and disciplinary knowledge so that they achieve strong outcomes throughout each phase of the curriculum: the Middle Years Programme (MYP) in Years 7, 8 and 9; a two-year Key Stage 4 where students study a range of GCSEs and vocational qualifications in Years 10 and 11; and the International Baccalaureate Careers Programme (IBCP) in our Sixth Form. 

We are also aware that children and young people are growing up in an increasingly complex world and living their lives seamlessly on and offline. This presents many positive and exciting opportunities, but also challenges and risks. In this environment, children and young people need to know how to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way.  Our daily tutor periods give our students the information they need to support them to develop healthy, nurturing relationships of all kinds, which also complements our values of respect, achievement, collaboration, integrity and resilience.

The majority of students remain at the academy for their Post 16 education. Our Sixth Form is a successful, warm and welcoming place, offering the International Baccalaureate Careers Programme (IBCP). We are very excited to be working with our link university, Canterbury Christ Church University. This, combined with extracurricular activities and personal development programmes, helps enhance applications to universities and future employers.

We ensure that all our students receive specialist support in terms of careers, future training and informed university choices, including a substantial guidance programme for UCAS applications. Students benefit from 1:1 mentoring opportunities through our relationship with The Tallow Chandlers Livery Company that has also provided significant investment in our Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) opportunities and enrichment through the new purpose-built Tallow Chandlers Engineering and Design Centre.

Digital Learning

Leigh Academies Trust’s vision to transform lives and enable every member of the Trust’s family to thrive in an ever-changing world is borne through our commitment to develop powerful digital citizens of the future.

We recognise that the development of independent learning habits is critical to student success and that by having access to digital technology students can use the varied learning tools and online resources available to help them realise their full potential. Students are introduced to a variety of programmes, tools and platforms throughout their educational journey that will enable them to enhance their learning both inside and outside of the classroom. 

We understand the importance of being digitally literate in our current world and therefore we are committed to equipping students with the necessary knowledge and skills to lead in the digital world.

Students enjoy using their Chromebook to support their studies and stimulate further research and wider learning.

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Home Learning

As part of our ongoing commitment to providing our students with the very best learning experiences, we set high-quality and meaningful homework tasks each week.  

Our approach to teaching at the academy is shaped by the best possible evidence about how students learn best.  Research shows that students benefit academically when they engage in completing homework in a sustained and successful manner: recapping learning from their lessons; increasing the likelihood of embedding knowledge in their long-term memory; applying their learning to extended practice; and affording the opportunity to explore topics which builds upon their classroom-based learning. In addition, the completion of homework helps students develop their skills as inquisitive, organised and disciplined thinkers – all key aspects of the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile. 

All of our students’ physical classrooms are mirrored by a Google Classroom, where they can access resources remotely to complete home learning tasks that will accelerate their progress. Parents can monitor their child’s engagement with their homework through the Google Guardian application.

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Enrichment and Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular activities have a positive impact on academic success and our enrichment programme which runs in the morning and after school goes beyond academic, technical, and vocational pursuits. Our programme promotes students’ overall development by allowing them to explore and discover their interests and talents. We ensure that we provide clubs that increase an understanding of how to stay physically healthy, eat healthily, and live an active lifestyle, and we provide ample opportunities for students to be active during the school day. Our extra-curricular activities range from drama clubs, sports clubs, STEM club, photography club, coding club to chess clubs.

All parents and students are signed up to SOCs, an online platform which allows parents and students to register for the activities in which they are interested. This up-to-date information allows parents to see where their child is each day, knowing that they are engaged in an extracurricular club. 

We offer before and after school study support sessions for our Year 11 and Year 13 students to support them with their learning.

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We pride ourselves on being a diverse and inclusive community of learners, where everybody is supported to learn, inspire and achieve. Support for students with learning difficulties or more complex needs is provided by a dedicated team of staff. We meet the needs of students who require additional support with their academic or social and emotional development, and are proud of our successful SEND provision, including The Infinity Hub (Designated Special Provision). Our Infinity Hub has a specialism for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and this provision forms an integral part of our academy community. 

We offer a variety of different interventions that are tailored to individual needs and progress is closely tracked and monitored. We pride ourselves on developing successful partnerships between home and the academy in order for every student with SEND to achieve their potential and be fully included in all aspects of academy life.

Transition

We understand that the transition from primary to secondary school is a huge step in the lives of children and their families.

We have a full programme of workshops which children can attend before joining the academy in addition to our Induction day in July.  We also offer a summer school prior to your child joining us in Year 7, providing the opportunity to be introduced to staff and students.

Our Open Mornings allow families to visit the academy as a working institution and our Open Evenings allow families to come and meet staff and discuss the range of subjects and opportunities on offer.

All students who wish to apply for a place at the academy must sit a Fair Banding test to ensure students across the full ability range are admitted. The dates of the test are published on the admissions page.

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Reports, Assessment and Monitoring

Our schedule of assessment, throughout each module (half term), ensures that student progress is regularly monitored and reviewed. Additional support and intervention can be swiftly put in place if necessary with extension work provided for those who have made exceptional progress. 

Parents receive their child’s progress report in line with their qualifications specification. In Key Stage 3, two reports are sent home per year, with information corresponding to the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme assessment specification. Key Stage 4 and 5 students receive three progress reports per year.

Awards and Praise

Our awards system recognises and rewards student achievements, small school achievements, local community achievements and encourages students to exceed their targets.

We celebrate our students’ achievements through parental emails, small school assemblies, whole academy assemblies, through subject recognition, breakfast with the Principal and parents as well as reward vouchers. It is important that students are recognised for a variety of positives, not just the academic, to ensure that all can achieve.

Uniform

At Leigh Academy Halley, we believe that high expectations and standards around uniform, conduct and appearance form the basis for students to show pride in their learning, in their academy and in themselves. As a result, students strive to achieve the highest standards academically, thus securing the best life chances.

The uniform is differentiated with colours of each small school shown on the academy tie.

Our Sixth Form students wear business attire in order to ensure a professional and mature approach to their studies in addition to being the academy’s inspirational role models.

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The Tallow Chandlers

The Tallow Chandlers’ Company is a Livery Company, founded around 700 years ago, whose principal purpose is to support, through financial and other means, young people and to promote educational and vocational excellence.

The Company has supported Leigh Academy Halley since 2018. As well as investing in the Engineering and Design Centre, which opened in June 2022, the Tallow Chandlers’ Company also supports pupils in school and in the school’s regional area through City & Guilds T Levels funding, Lord Mayor & Liveries Future Professionals Summer School in conjunction with City St George’s University; Platform Cricket Project; and The Children’s Literacy Charity.

Leigh Academy Halley Award Winners visit the Tallow Chandlers’ Company Hall in the City for the annual Education Awards Lunch and the Past Award Winners’ Supper, which celebrate Tallow Chandler Award Winners’ achievements. Company members host mock job interviews for Sixth Formers at the Hall for an Employability Day and also enjoy participating in the school’s Careers Day each March.

The Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers