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.

We are delighted to announce that The Skinners’ Kent Academy Head of Science, Sarah Fennell, has been awarded runner-up prize for the Pearson Excellence Award for Teaching Leaders.

The award of £500 to Mrs Fennell, and £1000 to The Skinners’ Kent Academy, was presented by Pearson’s Stewart Fields (Sales Consultant). He said: “I am delighted that Sarah has been recognised for the sterling work she has done in delivering initiatives at the Academy, the results of which are evident in the academic success of their students.”

Ms Fennell has been part of the two year programme by 'Teaching Leaders' which has been designed to raise standards of middle leadership in schools.  Mrs Fennell, who to be considered for the award provided detail of the programmes she has been running at the Academy, said “As part of a national focus, I am looking forward to promoting literacy across the whole Academy curriculum with the resources Pearson has provided.”

Budding artists at The Skinners’ Kent Academy have created a work of art as part of the Community Creator’s Project with Tunbridge Wells Museum.

Working with artist Nova Marshall, on Saturdays and during half term, they have made an abstract, tree-like sculpture that represents the growth of knowledge. The students painted the artwork grey to represent the cement of the new Skinners’ Kent Academy building and to symbolise their education, which they feel is organic, but in a grounded structure.

Teacher of Design Technology at The Skinners’ Kent Academy, Mr Blake, says “the students have put a lot of effort into this project. Interacting with an artist has given them the opportunity to embrace the subject and develop their understanding of abstract art.”

Year 10 student, Rabina Pun, says “It was fun making the sculpture. We worked really well as a team and I loved working in 3-D. I’m pretty pleased with the finished product.”

The original work will go on show in a special Community Curators exhibition. The exhibition is open to the public from Saturday 10 March - Saturday 26 May 2012.

The Assembly Hall Theatre in Tunbridge Wells has willingly opened its curtains to give a Year 10 Skinners’ Kent Academy student the opportunity of a lifetime. The fifteen year old student, who must remain anonymous, will visit some of the Theatre’s main performances incognito. “I’m delighted to be given this chance, especially as I know hundreds of others would have loved to do it. It’s a brilliant theatre and it’s right on my doorstep, so I have seized the chance with both hands.”

After a successful project in October, when students helped to build the spinning wheel for the panto season, this is another welcome venture and The Academy is pleased to be working once again with The Assembly Hall Theatre.

Mrs Ahmed, Head of the Communication Faculty at The Skinners’ Kent Academy said: “This is a valuable opportunity for our Mystery Critic. They will be able to use skills learnt within the Academy and apply them to the outside world. Specifically they will develop communication skills and really learn how to write for a particular audience. We will give our full support and encouragement along the way.”

Assembly Hall Theatre Director Brian McAteer said: "The work we do with young people is really important to us and we like to support them. One of our objectives here at the Assembly Hall is to involve young people in the work of the theatre – they are, after all, tomorrow’s audience.”

The Mystery Critic will review a range of exciting shows; the first is the stage production of the No.1 greatest musical Grease on at the Assembly Hall Theatre, Monday 19 – Saturday 24 March www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk