Dear Parent & Carers,
We hope that you have all enjoyed a restful summer break. It has been wonderful to welcome all of the Airy community to the start of the new school year. The Airy college, now with our five yer groups, feels even more vibrant than before. I am very pleased to share that our students have approached the new year impressively, demonstrating positive behaviours over this first week. Students have already collected over 500 merits in just 4 days. Merits are collected when students demonstrate our values of resilience, respect, scholarship, ambition and Integrity.
Below I have included some important information to help ensure a continued smooth start to the academic year 2022/23
Curriculum
It is, in particular, an important year for our Y11 students. As you can expect, we will be communicating regularly with parents/carers on what support is available and events that will be happening. A vital resource for them, but also all year groups, is our curriculum. This can be found in full from Year 7 to 11 on our website here.
Tutors
We are lucky enough to welcome some new members of staff to the Airy College team with some undertaking the role of tutor. I’m pleased to announce our tutors for this academic year are as follows:
- Ms Renneberg – Tutor for 7C
- Miss Alam – Tutor for 7F
- Mr Warren – Tutor for 8C
- Mr Clabrough – Tutor for 8F
- Mr Natufe – Tutor for 9C
- Miss Roberts – Tutor for 9F
- Mr Magenis – Tutor for 10C
- Mrs Hunt – Tutor for 10F
- Miss Coupe – Tutor for 11C
- Miss Gough– Tutor for 11F
The role of our tutors is vital in being the member of staff who has contact with your child every day during tutor time, delivering our student personal development programme. They are also the first point of contact for parents/carers.
Uniform
A reminder that, on those days when they are timetabled to have PE, students should come to school wearing their PE kit. On days where your child does not have PE, your child is expected to wear the following as per the guidance available on our website:
- Our navy blue blazer with academy crest;
- Steel grey classic trouser or pleated skirt;
- White button up shirt;
- Leigh Academy Blackheath college or founders tie;
- Plain navy or grey socks;
- Black leather shoes with plain laces (coloured laces are not permitted).
Mobile Phones
Please also let me take this opportunity to remind you that mobile phones are not permitted to be used on the academy site. If seen, they will be removed, and parents or carers will be called to collect. Should a child need to contact home during the day, they can do so through the main office.
Extracurricular activities
Please note that there will be no extracurricular activities for the first fortnight of module 1, in order to allow staff and students sufficient time to advertise and sign up, respectively.
We are extremely proud of our students. Airy college ended last academic year with overall attendance significantly above national and local figures. This is a phenomenal achievement and is testament to the resilience and commitment our Airy students, parents/carers and staff have demonstrated. I have no doubt that this will continue this academic year. Our primary focus remains ensuring that your child feels happy and well supported in the first few days of term. Rest assured, your child’s teachers, tutor, and indeed all of the college staff will be there to support them every step of the way, so that they can enjoy the rigorous and engaging lessons that LAB offers.
National Online Safety
As you are aware, Leigh Academy Blackheath is proud to be a digital school and we continue to work hard to ensure our students are being safe and responsible online. At LAB we continuously work with all students to make them aware of the negative effects of poor engagement with social media. This is delivered through our tutor programme, pastoral intervention work and the online safety content of our Computing curriculum, You may find the following resources available on the National Online Safety site useful to also support these conversations at home. All parents are encouraged to sign up to access resources and courses via the following link: https://nationalonlinesafety.com/enrol/leigh-academy-blackheath
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to give a warm welcome to new students and staff to the Airy family. I would also like to give a special mention to our new student services managers, Mr Murdock, Mrs Ford and Mrs Gilmore. Although not new to LAB, they are new to the Airy college and have already made such a positive impact.
We are all really looking forward to a productive and exciting year ahead
Yours faithfully,
Ms C Lindars
Head of Airy College, Vice Principal