Dear Parent & Carers,
We hope that you have all enjoyed a restful summer break. The Airy college, now with our six year groups, feels even more vibrant than before and we are really happy to see all of our students back in school after the summer holidays. Our year 7s have made a fantastic start to their secondary school journey; they have shown excellent Ambition and Resilience over the past few days as they navigate their way around our building and meet lots of new people. We are extremely proud of the GCSE exam successes, including some of our previous Year 10 students completing exams early in Community Languages and Astrology. It has also been wonderful to see so many Airy students join our new LAB16 cohort.
Below you will find some reminders and important information for this academic year:
Curriculum:
Our curriculum can be found in detail on our website here. This is a useful tool for parents and carers as well as students to ensure they know what to expect each year in their subjects.
Tutors:
We are lucky enough to welcome some new members of staff to the Airy team with some undertaking the role of tutor. I’m pleased to announce our tutors for this academic year are as follows:
| 7C | Ms Kerr-Edwards and Mr Slade |
| 7F | Ms Skondra |
| 8C | Ms Renneberg |
| 8F | Ms Gough and Ms Abdi |
| 9C | Mr Warren |
| 9F | Mr Clabrough |
| 10C | Mr Natufe |
| 10F | Ms Abdi and Ms Collins-Jones |
| 11C | Mr Magenis |
| 11F | Ms Heslop |
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 personal development programme and being the first point of contact for many of our young people.
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 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. This includes contacting parents and carers throughout the day. 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 Airy college team.
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.
Attendance and punctuality:
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 of our Airy students. It is important that students arrive at school on time so that they are ready to start Period 1 at 8.30.
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. This is delivered through our tutor programme, pastoral intervention work and the online safety content of our Computing curriculum. You may find the resources available on the National Online Safety site useful to also support these conversations at home. https://nationalonlinesafety.com/enrol/leigh-academy-blackheath
Our primary focus is 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.
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 student services managers, Ms Altman and Ms Wensah for their ongoing support.
If you wish to contact the Airy team, please email airy@leighacademyblackheath.org.uk and you will be put in touch with the relevant person.
We are all really looking forward to a productive and exciting year ahead.
Yours faithfully,
Ms C Lindars | Vice Principal – Head of Airy College
Ms A Phillips | Assistant Principal – Deputy Head of Airy College