The day was run on the principles of the Academy Middle Years International Baccalaureate Programme, with the theme for the day of ‘How will technology shape our future?’ All attendees experienced lessons in the themes of Challenge, Create and Activate and children from Claremont and Southborough Primary Schools can be seen below enjoying an 'activate' session on the Academy's all weather pitch.

The Skinners' Kent Academy is one of the top 20% of schools adding value to student achievements at GCSE.  This is determined by the progress students have made between national test results at 11 and 16 (GCSEs).

Sue Williamson, Chief Executive of SSAT*, said "These results are a vindication of Skinners' Kent Academy's belief in high expectations, good teaching and ambition for every young person... Skinners' Kent Academy should be congratulated for their stunning performance in adding value to their students' achievements."

*SSAT (The Schools Network) Ltd is an independent, membership organisation that works with schools and partners to shape a world class education system.

“What a weekend!” Charlie Brooker

“I wish we didn’t have to leave” James Jenner

“I was just happy to be a part of this momentous occasion” Megan Simpson-Howells

Just a few of the heart felt words from the group of year 11s that went on the residential weekend away to Blackhurst Farm.

On the Weekend of the 4th of May 2013 11 intrepid year 11s packed their things and made their way into the wilderness for a weekend of challenges that would push the group to their limits. Friendships would be tested, mental strength would be challenged and physical endurance would be expanded. Would they come back alive? Only time would tell.

On the Friday evening, the students and teachers enjoyed a nice relaxing lasagne expertly prepared by Mrs Martin. A jovial yet apprehensive atmosphere settled over the camp that evening before bed. Students and teachers began questioning themselves about the mental resolve they would need to pull through the journey ahead.

The first day of activities had arrived. Both teachers and students rose from their deep slumbers unaware of the mountain of a day that lay ahead. A hearty cooked breakfast was the only logical start to the day and Head Chef Low had truly excelled himself. Freshly baked baguettes, garnished with gently fried quale’s eggs, thinly sliced pancetta and tomato and celery relish to top it off. When news spread that team building was the first activity of the day, both students and teachers put on a brave face, but it was clear that beneath their hardy exterior cracks were beginning to show. How much longer would they last? Arriving at team building the students were thrown in at the deep end. Set seemingly impossible task after impossible task the group pulled together and managed to remain composed as they went about moving the golf ball from one hoop to the other only using a few pipes. If the team weren’t fazed by the golf ball and hoop game, how would they react to the next challenge? Getting the whole group from one side of the lava field to the other only using two planks and the stepping stones. Clear leaders began to shine in the group and although they didn’t quite manage to get to the other side of the lava field without sustaining a high number of casualties the team performed admirably. Even though they had been beaten, they didn’t let this dampen their spirits and marched on, united, to activity number two.

The abseil tower loomed ominously overhead casting an eerie shadow over the countryside, students and teachers were both cowering silently below. Had it not been for the gutsy effort shown by Patryk Milaj demonstrating to the group that the wall was nothing to be feared, they may never have succeeded. After the path was laid, wave after wave of student and teacher conquered the wall leaving it well and truly beaten. With confidence high and the group gelling well they made their way off to bungee trampolining.

A cold breeze began to blow in from the east as the intrepid 11s arrived at the activity. The group were quick to get into height order after being instructed, although some members of the group clearly had their ego’s damaged when they realised they weren’t as tall as they thought. Was this to be the breaking point for a select few? Some inspirations words from Harry Clarke about how much he was enjoying the trampolining soon lifted the gang’s spirits and they soldiered on triumphant to the next activity of the day.

The Crate Challenge, was this to be the groups undoing? A brave effort from messers Blake and Clarke-Knowles showed the students how it should be done achieving a lofty total of 16 crates. Kourosh Kamiab and Anthony Bryan were next to go. However, their inability to become one with each other and the crates left them with a rather disappointing seven. Stand out performances from Ploy Bert and Alex Woodward-Rudd left them tied for the lead with Blake and Clarke-Knowles. A very challenging, yet enjoyable activity left the group enthused before their final activity.

With the weather closing in and the group exhausted from their exertions archery seemed like a great way to round of the day’s activities. Although, with fatigue beginning to set in and cabin fever taking hold, would the mix of isolation, bad weather and lethal weapons be all too much for our intrepid 11.  Thankfully the plucky young instructor captivated the attention of the group and soon any worries from the teachers about the wielding of the Bow and Arrows were put to rest. After a slow start everyone soon got the hang of it and began to really enjoy the activity.

With the day’s activities over, the students and teachers were both equally relieved to be back at the ranch for another expertly cooked meal from Head Chef Low. After dinner, a quick game of rounders with both the staff and students would be the perfect round off to a tough day. Although, as the game drew on. Competitive streaks began to show. When the game ended teams were left broken and bruised after such a heated affair. Hopefully a good night’s sleep would help the teams to forget any quarrels.

The sun rose on Sunday morning to a slightly less chirpy bunch of students and teachers. Had the isolation and shear physical strain finally broken them? Not if Head Chef Low could help it. Another triumph of a breakfast left the group re-energised and ready for kayaking. Beautiful sunny weather was certainly on our side and everyone seemed excited to get out on the water. A quick safety briefing and we were ready to go. With plenty of fun and games of the water it was not long before Mr Ilwahdi decided to take a dip. Once he was in the first time, he just couldn’t be stopped. The group loved the activity and were extremely sad for the weekend to end.

A momentous weekend, plenty of fun and laughter was had by all. Both the students and teachers became much closer as a group and will hopefully remain so as they go back to school. Special thanks must go to Miss Leeton for organising the trip and the staff that made it all possible: Mr Blake, Mr Ilwahdi, Mr Low, Miss Weller, Mr Topliss and Mrs Martin.

Sam Clarke-Knowles

 The state-of-the-art building, which is inspired by the Guggenheim Museum in New York, is 10,000m2 and has a range of facilities including: 7 science labs, a lecture theatre with 3d capabilities, radio studio, multi-media edit suite and drama studio. Wifi throughout the building will enable students to use mobile devices, such as ipads, throughout the building to further their learning. Within the 29 acres of grounds there are outdoor learning spaces, an 88x61m all-weather pitch and a multi-use games area with three floodlit netball courts and 5 tennis courts.

Principal, Mrs Carr, says: “We are delighted to be in our new £21.4 million pound facilities and to finally have the opportunity to explore all the wonderful teaching and learning opportunities it brings. All of those that know us, will know that SKA is so much more than a building. It is the people in it that matter and together we will continue on our journey to ensure that the Academy is the outstanding all ability community school in Tunbridge Wells, of which we can all be proud.”

Angelica Mura, aged 13, says: “I love the Pen and Paper, our new canteen. We don’t get sloppy school dinners, it’s more like eating at a university.”

Sixth former, Abigail Harmsworth says: “Once the foundations had been laid we saw the first level built.  Then layer by layer we watched the Academy grow into the new magnificent building we see today - it’s great to be part of the move from the old and into the new.”

Work will continue on the exterior of the building over the next few months.

The building work began in the summer of 2011 and the project, including all the landscaping and the demolition of the old building, is due to be complete by summer 2013.

After investigating various types of celebrations and sugarcraft techniques, students selected one event and then designed 4 products (in this case cakes) which would suit the target audience.

Students then made the four cakes, selected one to further develop and produced this for assessment.

Assistant Vice Principal, Mrs Pomeroy, said "All the students produced work of outstanding quality. This year’s students were particularly innovative in their designs."

English Tasks – year 7 - 11
Maths - year 7 worksheet
Maths - year 8 worksheet
Maths - year 9 worksheet
Maths - year 10 revision
Maths - year 11 worksheet

Science - Year 7

Science - Year 8 

Science - Year 9

Science - Year 10

Science - Year 11 set 1

Science - Year 11 set 2 - 4

Science - Year 12

Parents of students without permission will be contacted directly by Academy staff.

Student work is available on the news section of the school website.

Year 4 and Year 5 pupils from 9 primary schools took part in a series of friendly matches, cheered on by teachers and parents. After hard-fought and extremely close matches on all sides, St John’s emerged as winners of the football, and St James’ winners of the netball. Both teams have been presented with trophies to mark their success and all teams received a certificate of achievement

New Assistant Vice Principal and Head of Junior House Craig Bull said “What a great afternoon!  I was really pleased to see so many teams enjoying the tournament and taking advantage of a friendly opportunity for local schools to play against each other in a supportive environment.”

Sian Carr, Academy Principal, said: “We are delighted to be able to host this tournament and invite so many children, teachers and families to the Academy. All the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and showed some great skills throughout the afternoon.

We look forward to running more events like this, as they are some of the many ways in which we are building positive and lasting relationships with our Primary School partners and the wider community in Tunbridge Wells and the surrounding area.”

This is the third year of The Skinners’ Kent Academy Primary Sports Tournament.  Competing Schools were from:
Bidborough Primary School, Bishops Down Primary, Claremont Primary School, Langton Green Primary School, Pembury Primary, Sherwood Park Community, St James’ Primary, St John’s CEP School, St Peter’s CEP Primary School.

The messages of courage and remembrance were conveyed through poetry as Vice Principal, Matt Tompkins, began with a poem written by year 9 student Selena Waghorn called ‘Poppies are My Gift.’ 

The assembly focussed on the Battle of Britain which was fought over Kent and Sussex from July to September 1940, readings and poetry illustrated the experiences and feelings of those involved in the conflict.

Proceedings were concluded with an emotive Roll of Honour, remembering each of the 44 soldiers who have lost their lives in service in the last year and a one minute silence was observed by all present.

They shall not grow old, as we who are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them.

Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

The view of the new Skinners' Kent Academy building from the maths floor on a day of sunshine and showers.

We know how important it is for you to choose the right school for your child.  That’s why we invite you to join us for a tour of the Academy during the working day. 

• You will be guided by our Principal, or Vice Principals around the site.
• You will see lessons in full swing and feel the atmosphere of the Academy on a normal working day.
• There are external views of our stunning new building which will open in Spring next year.
• Tour groups are small so that we can respond directly to your questions and interests.
• You are welcome to come with our without your child.

BOOK A TOUR

• Phone: 01892 534 377  
• email: info@skinnerskentacademy.org.uk

TOUR DATES every Tuesday and Thursday 10am-11am in October, but hurry as many dates are already full.

Twenty one students from The Skinners’ Kent Academy will have their poetry published in a special anthology.

There was a huge response to the Poetry Rivals competition with poems finally being selected for publication based on perception, imagination, expression and creative use of language.

Academy English teacher, Mrs Mustafa, says: “There are some terrific examples of original thought and creativity. This competition has allowed our students to use newly developed skills and their success has really helped to build on their confidence in literacy.”

Poetry Rivals editor Mark Richardson says: "I’d like to congratulate your school and hope that this achievement will encourage confident participation in future creative writing activities.”

The book, Poetry Rivals' Collection 2012 - Rhymes of Life, will be published in November 2012.

We are delighted to welcome a record number of Year 7s to the Academy this year.  Students have joined us from a wide range of schools including our closest feeder primaries; Pembury, St Peter’s Claremont, St James’ and Sherwood.

Assistant Vice Principal and Head of Junior House, Mr Bull, says: "It’s great to see how well they’ve settled in. It’s testament to their hard work and commitment to learning. They are a happy, lively, intelligent group of students."

All 125 students attended the Academy a day early for an induction that focused on the different ways of learning and thinking.   The academic sessions were complemented by team building and sport on our new all weather pitch and a BBQ in the late summer sunshine.

500 students and staff enjoyed a fantastic day of sport at the Paralympics in London on 7th September 2012.  In an act of organisational precision students crossed the site, under a blistering sun, to visit a range of sporting venues including the Copperbox and The Riverbank Arena. Students and staff enjoyed some fantastic games including GB v Argentina in 7-a-side football in the cerebral palsy class, and GB v Japan in wheelchair rugby.    The mammoth school trip was the culmination of a year’s work on the Olympic and Paralympic values and was a wonderful way to welcome the record number of new Year 7s.

Principal, Mrs Sian Carr, said: “Everyone here works very hard, so it was fantastic that the whole Academy community enjoyed this event together.  We saw sporting excellence, resilience and courage today and celebrated an outstanding summer of British sport with thousands of other passionate fans.   It is an extremely inspirational start to our new academic year.”     

Archie Corbett, age 11, said . “It was really inspiring to see athletes with disabilities perform at their best. It made me think, if they can do it, then so can I. I will remember their courage next time I’m out running and I won’t give up.”

Paige Attwater, age 11, said “The wheelchair rugby was spellbinding. It was great to watch the players communicate with each other and work so well as a team.”

The Paralympic trip was made possible thanks to the generous donation from the Jackson Foundation.

Staff, students, parents and governors enjoyed a rare ray of sunshine at The Skinners’ Kent Academy annual prize giving ceremony.

A wonderful lunch, prepared by Academy students and staff, was served on the lawn before the ceremony at 2pm.

Dozens of students received awards for academic attainment and progress and many received prizes for their extra-curricular activities, including charitable work and representing the Academy.

In a passionate speech the Principal, Mrs Carr, reflected on the successes of the Academy since it opened in 2009. 

"These three years have seen us open the Academy, improve academic achievement, create an ethos of mutual respect ensuring high standards of behaviour, and deliver elegance in how we look and in all that we do. We have not faltered in our vision that all students at this Academy deserve the very best in order to achieve the very best."

The ceremonies were led by the Master of The Skinners’ company and Academy Chairman of Governors, Mr Andrew Boggis.  Awards were presented by Mrs Alison Monk, Vice Chair of the Governors. 

More than thirty students from The Skinners’ Kent Academy, Tonbridge Grammar School and Meadows School gave a brilliant “pop-up” performance at St Pancras Station as part of the Cultural Olympiad.  The performance marked one month to go to the start of the Olympic Games.

The piece of music was composed by the students in a series of workshops run by the London Chamber Orchestra as part of the orchestras’s educational programme Music Junction.  It was inspired by the 12 minute javelin train journey which runs from St Pancras Station to Stratford Station.  Students listened to rhythms and sounds from the train to compose their own music and lyrics to capture the excitement and occasion of the journey to the Olympic stadium.  On the day the students’ piece was blended into music from two other LCO Music Junction projects to create one magical 10 minute composition.

Skinners’ Kent Academy student, Madeline Ashby, Yr 7 said: “I felt nervous and excited all at the same time. It’s been brilliant performing at St Pancras Station – there are not many people who can say they’ve done that!”

Ian Pressland, director of the LCO said:  “It was very exciting to bring together all of LCO’s Music Junction education hubs at St Pancras. The event was part of the orchestra’s New Music 20x12 Cultural Olympiad award and allowed everyone to hear the children’s wonderful music followed immediately by LCO’s commission Track to Track ‘The Athlon’ by Graham Fitkin played by LCO and the Fitkin Band.”

There will be a final performance of the work at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, The South Bank at 8pm on Sunday 15th July 2012.   

Students, staff, governors, KCC and the Willmott Dixon team who are building The Skinners’ Kent Academy held a Topping Out Ceremony on 28th June 2012 to celebrate the completion of the structure of the new Skinners’ Kent Academy building.

In line with Topping Out tradition oil, corn and salt were sprinkled into a concrete casement at the heart of the building.  A scroll with the ambitions and hopes of all the current Year 7 students was also buried and concreted over.

Mike Whiting, the cabinet member for education at KCC said.  “It is marvellous to see such a wonderful transformation has taken place since I was last here with Greg Clark for the ground breaking ceremony eight months ago.  This is a state of the art building which will serve generations of Tunbridge Wells  youngsters. Congratulations to everyone involved; everyone at KCC is proud of your success.”

Sian Carr, The Skinners’ Kent Academy Principal, said “As the form of the building becomes apparent we can start to see what an elegant building it will be and we can begin to imagine how energising it will be to teach and learn in such a wonderful environment.  We have a hugely increased number of Year 7 students coming to the Academy in September as well as having a new sixth form starting so are looking forward to moving into the new building in Spring 2013.

John Waterman, Willmott Dixon Managing Director said: “We are delighted to be involved with this project, it is going to be a fantastic facility and will allow the students and staff to learn and teach in a state of the art facility.”

Last year the team ran, jogged and walked through the wind and rain. This year they had searing temperatures to contend with. 

So far they’ve raised nearly £300 pounds online and hundreds more offline.

There is still time to make a contribution to cancer research via our ‘Just Giving’ page.  Thank you 

www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/team-ska

It was a wonderfully warm day and despite the heat everyone kept their cool, especially Speldhurst, who scored the winning goal of the final against St Peter's in the very last second.

Play offs for third place were equally exciting. Bidborough and Bishops Down drew after a fierce twenty minute battle in the blistering sun. 

Well done everyone. We look forward to seeing you all next year.

Dozens of children enjoyed The Skinners’ Kent Academy primary school netball tournament – A League - at the weekend.

It was a great morning; there were many really close, hard fought matches, some wonderful ball skills and it didn’t even rain!

7 teams from local primaries competed in two groups with the winners of each battling it out in the final for the Winners’ Cup and a place in the Cranbrook Tournament.

Horsmonden V Bishops Down lived up to the promise of a great final, and after 20 minutes of end to end play Horsmonden Primary School were victorious.

A massive well done to all the students taking part and we look forward to the B League tournament on 26 May.

Around 70 female students and staff from The Skinners’ Kent Academy will be entering the Race for Life in Tunbridge Wells on May 27th.

Coming together to support charitable causes is an important part of the Academy ethos. It's the second year we have taken part and we are hoping to raise even more money for this very worthwhile cause.  We are very grateful for any support and if you would like to sponsor the team, you can do this direct via our Race for Life just giving page.

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/team-ska

race for life team 2011

There were dozens of entries and some really excellent ideas, however, the committee chose Katie's design because they liked its simplicity and the way it reflects both the Skinners' Kent Academy logo and the family ethos of the new association.

1.       Get motivated. Find a source of immense inspiration, whether it is the satisfaction of good grades or the reward that is attached to them.

2.       Take advantage of technology. Personally I use power point presentations and bore my parents with information; they do it enough to me.

3.       Be creative and colourful. Colour-code each subject, use highlighters and colouring pencils. At least your notes will look pretty enough to be noticed.

4.       Paint the room with posters: around the mirror, in your bathroom or even on the side of your bed!  We all love a fairy tale story on the differences between miosis and mitosis …..

5.       Possibly the most favoured revision tip, take regular breaks and rehydrate that hard working brain of yours. Over-doing it or under-doing it does nobody a favour.

Before I move onto P2 6.2 Fuses I must say that revising is not half as bad as failing!

Matt Glassup, the in-house designer from Accent Catering came to show students how the designs had been developed and gave them a sneak peek of the possible final logos. These will now be applied to the signage, packaging and uniforms within the catering facilities when the new Academy building opens in Spring 2013.

Teacher of Design Technology, Mr Blake, said “The experience gave the students an excellent opportunity to see how designs evolve in industry and how graphics can be applied to a range of media.”

The Academy was joined by two Paralympic Judo athletes from Kent on Friday 27th April 2012.  Partially sighted brothers, Dan and Marc Powell, gave an inspirational talk to students and demonstrated their Judo skills to the whole Academy.

Their visit was part of the Academy's programme to celebrate the Olympics. 500 students and staff will be going to the Paralympics in London on 7th September 2012.

Sally Daniells, Assistant Vice Principal, said: “As an Academy we have been incorporating the Olympic ideals throughout our work both in and out of the classroom, and are part of the Olympic Schools ‘Get Set’ network. This visit is a fantastic opportunity for the whole Academy to enjoy this historic event together.”

The Paralympic trip has been made possible thanks to the generous donation from the Jackson Foundation.

The Skinners’ Kent Academy Principal, Mrs Carr, says “ Our stunning Ofsted report with Outstanding and Good judgements across the board is affirmation of the journey travelled since the Academy opened in 2009. The facilities in the new building will empower us to continue our relentless and successful focus on raising attainment and enable our students to flourish.” 

The tour is part of an extensive programme to prepare for the move into the new building in early 2013.  The state-of-the-art building, which will feature the latest computer technology, will also include facilities for The Academy’s Science and Engineering specialism, a lecture hall and drama space.  Additionally redevelopment of The Academy’s 29 acres of grounds will include outdoor learning areas, performance spaces and excellent sports facilities.

Students at the Academy have embraced the Sports Relief cause this year with their unfailingly positive attitude towards raising money for those in need, both in the UK and overseas. 

We had bake sales, a tuck shop, darts competitions, basketball and football shootouts and the ever popular soak the teacher.

Monies raised will be donated to Sport Relief whose main causes this year are to help those communities overseas who need clean water and help tackle gang culture in the UK.

Eleven Year 7 students from The Skinners’ Kent Academy put on a fantastic show with London Chamber Orchestra at Cadogan Hall in Chelsea.

The group performed a six minute piece of music they had written and composed during a series of workshops with the London Chamber Orchestra and two other local secondary schools – Tonbridge Grammar School and Meadows School.  Called, Track to Track, the music is inspired by the train journey from St Pancras Station to the Olympic venue and is part of the  2012 Cultural Olympiad Programme.

This is the second year of a three year project, in which students have the opportunity to play new instruments, play with a professional orchestra, compose music and perform at a range of venues from Cadogan Hall to The Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Charlotte Funnell, Year 7, said “It was fun learning to play a new instrument. When I went on stage at Cadogan Hall to perform I felt excited, nervous and proud at all the same time.”

The Academy is the first secondary school in Tunbridge Wells to be inspected under the new Ofsted framework. Inspectors spent two days at the Academy on 7th and 8th March and observed 25 lessons. In their report they make 9 references to outstanding practice and note many exemplary and exceptional features.

The following direct quotes are taken from the Ofsted report.

• “There has been a relentless and successful focus on raising attainment. Students now make at least good progress and many make OUTSTANDING progress.”
• “Behaviour and safety of students is OUTSTANDING … the high levels of tolerance and respect that students show each other and staff are an exemplary feature of the Academy.”
• “Leadership and management is OUTSTANDING.”
• “Teaching is mainly good with an increasing proportion that is OUTSTANDING.”
• “The Academy demonstrates OUTSTANDING capacity to sustain and continue to build on its improvements.”

In its final judgement on the four new Ofsted categories the Academy was found to be: GOOD in the Achievement of Students, GOOD in the Quality of Teaching, OUTSTANDING in the Behaviour and Safety of Students, OUTSTANDING in Leadership and Management. The judgement for overall effectiveness was GOOD.

The Principal, Mrs Carr said “We should all be very proud of this report and the affirmation it provides of the journey travelled since the Academy opened in 2009. Thank you for the fantastic work and huge commitment of all those involved in our community. This is reflected significantly in this extremely positive report. It provides an excellent platform for the next phase of our journey. I look forward to working with you as we embed all that we have learnt and achieved so far and build and establish The Academy as an outstanding all ability community school. We can be truly proud of our success and be determined to raise the bar even higher as we move into the next exciting phase of the Academy journey.”

Download the full Ofsted report

A team of students from The Skinners’ Kent Academy have had a first tour of their new building. The Year 8 and 9 students, who are the Academy New Build Student Advocates, will have incredible access to the site during a series of tours over the next six months. They will then report back to the rest of the students on how their new Academy is developing.

Year 9 Skinners’ Kent Academy Student, Pauline Westhuizen, says” We can see the site from the windows in the English and Maths block, but it’s a different and more exciting experience to see it for myself. I can’t wait until we move in for good. It’ll be great to be in such a modern building.”

With the foundations laid, work on the concrete frame has commenced and the building is starting to take shape. During the coming months the main construction focus will remain on erecting the frame and the installation of the All Weather Pitch.

The Skinners’ Kent Academy Principal, Mrs Carr, says “It is very exciting to see the building take shape. It will be a wonderful learning environment for all our students and those joining us in Year 7 will be the very first to enjoy these wonderful new facilities for the whole of their Academy life.”

A webcam has been installed to track progress at one of Tunbridge Wells' biggest investment projects – the new building for The Skinners' Kent Academy. The camera streams live footage of the building works on the £21.4 million new building.

The state-of-the-art building, which will feature the latest computer technology, is expected to be completed in early 2013. It will include facilities for The Academy’s Science and Engineering specialism, a lecture hall and drama space as well as the redevelopment of The Academy’s 29 acres of grounds. This will include outdoor learning areas, performance spaces and excellent sports facilities.