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Principal’s End of term newsletter

Summer 2013

Oliver 2013

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Dear Parents and Students,

I am writing to you at the end of a busy and very successful year at the City of London Academy. This year has been full of new and exciting opportunities and initiatives for our students and local community. I would like to thank all the students, parents and staff for all their hard work over the year and their continued support for the academy. I am including a summary of some of the year’s highlights and reminding parents and students of some key dates and expectations for the coming academic year.

Academic Achievements I am very pleased to tell you that the Academy was one of the ten most improved secondary schools in London in 2012. The 18% rise in GCSE results helped to secure our well-deserved place in the top ten, with results well above the national average. This year we look forward to continued examination success, and I anticipate writing to you all with more good news in September. It has been a very successful year for our Sixth Form and indeed our success

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has now led to CoLA becoming one of the biggest Sixth Form providers in the local area, oversubscribed and expanding year on year. This year our Year 13 students have been offered places in Oxford and Cambridge universities, University College London to study medicine, Music conservatoires and Art Colleges. I will share our students’ successful acceptance of these offers in the new term. This builds on CoLA in 2011 being one of the top 10 non-selective schools for higher education progression. Arts Mark Gold This year the Academy was once again confirmed as an Arts Mark Gold school recognising the amazing contributions made by the arts to the life of the Academy. The year has been full of fantastic events, curriculum successes and productions including Oliver The Musical in March and the London Symphony Orchestra event in collaboration with the other City of London Academies at Guildhall in July to highlight just a couple. Academy Partnerships

Significant news for the Academy this year is the sealing of the formal partnership between CoLA and Redriff Primary School which becomes the Redriff Primary, City of London Academy. This will develop a solid foundation for further close working relationships with all our primary feeder schools, ensuring a seamless and supportive transition for all our new students.

Inclusive School To best support some of our most vulnerable students in the local community, we

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are piloting an Autism Spectrum Condition Unit for statemented students in partnership with the London Borough of Southwark. After evaluating the success of this provision we will run a unit of up to 16 students, in total, across all the year groups. This will provide the students with access to mainstream teaching and curriculum opportunities. Examinations The summer term is the traditional examination period and this term has been fully focused on the public Key Stage 4 and 5 exams and the Key Stage 3 internal exams. I would like to congratulate all the students for their hard work and effort and wish them all the very best with their results.

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Lord Mayor’s Visit The Lord Mayor of the City of London made his annual visit to our Academy in July and this year, as the visit coincided with Year 6 transition day, the incoming Year 7 were also invited to meet the Mayor.

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Prize Giving Winners 2013 This year many of our students received recognition for their hard work and commitment in the Academy. I have included the list of prize winners for you to see and I am very pleased to see so many of our young people gaining this prize. We welcomed the Artic explorer Dwayne Fields to prize giving this year and he gave an inspirational talk on what motivates him to succeed in life.

Tutor Group Prizes Years 7-9

Sumaya Hassan, Lewis Watson 7A

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Annie Whisbey, George Hastings 7B

Christine Luo, Ainaishe Haid 7C

Raphael Granado, Alize Ramsey 7D

Maryame Chlaita, Reece Jackson 7E

Daniel Williams, Payge McEvoy 7F

Ryan Seymour, Khadur Omar 7G

Amber - Louise Robinson, Jamie Kingsman 7H

Alex Melnikov, Victoria Odukoya-Ayodele 8A

Anthony Godwin, Itunuoluwa Eyite 8B

Asya Christie, Zion Mills 8C

Leah Osei, Josh Dutton 8D

Damilola Adedji, Ahmed Faizy 8E

Jakob Podgorski, Nicole Tu 8F

Hassan Taiwo Raji, Sydney Stanley 8G

Hussein Raji, Mary Swadi 8H

Adam Ramswell, Sharron Anthony 9A

Hollie Kavanagh, Alex On 9B

Amy Lusham, Abdul-Malik Salifu 9C

Imade Remmouche, Deja Thomas 9D

Anil Ambrose, Ellie O'Rourke 9E

Zayn Ali, Sarah Viang 9F

Daniel Kinfe, Antonia Edwoods 9G

Tony Kelly, Shannon Cartmill 9H

Tutor Group Prizes Years 10 and 11

Danielle Danso, Mohamuud Waheliye 10A

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Matthew Torres, Che Scott 10B

Debora Jackson, Sher Mohamoud 10C

Catriona Poon, Daniel Lee 10D

Lou-Lou Batchelor, Mohamed Mumen 10E

Paige Johnson, Cory Michaels 10F

Ganiat Karatu, Thomas Ward 10G

Rhiannon McLellan, Mugisha Uwiragiye 10H

Milad Amani, Rafiat Karatu 11A

Alice Wentworth, Josh Collingwood 11B

Louise Ho, Louie Savory 11C

Joshua McBride, Ade Oshilaja 11D

Francesca Whitfield, Charlie Knowles 11E

Cesar Moreira, Mollie Marcantonio-Wilson 11F

Tianna Thomas, Jessie Ogbonna 11G

Charlie Hubbard, Kelly Dodd 11H

Year Group Significant Contribution Prizes

Molly Kirkham 7H, Maz Rizwan 7D

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Oliver Pawsey 8E, Millie Firkins 8D

Imade Remmouche 9D, Zahra Yaquob 9F

Chloe Lay 10B, Joseph Doublet 10G

Megan Hastings 11B, Mohammed Caulker 11E

Sixth Form Significant Contribution Prizes

Rada Ouchakova 13D, Aidan Poon 13C

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Faculty and Livery Company Sponsored Prizes

Art

James Mould 12A, Jessica Luu 12C, Martinique Bartley 13E, Claudio Maldonado 11G,

Megan Hastings 11B, Daniel Lee 10D, Ellie Day 11B, David Dogbatse 9H

Business and Enterprise

Shenai Lowe 12C, Aleem Watfa 12B, Rhiannon McLellan 10H, Kayleigh Duncan 13E, Tommy Hart 11D

Drama

Kyla Quinlivan 11B, Riley Wright 11D

English

Francesca Couchman 11E, Tanzir Khan 8H, Leah Daniel 7A, Jack Jackson 12G,

Omotara Olajide 12D

Library

Naomi Jackson 7D, Howard Tran 7G, Moyin Ajala 8F, Thomas Reeves 8A,

Zahra Yaquob 9F,

David Trieu 9E, Lou-Lou Batchelor 10E, Reece Whiting 10F

Humanities (History and Geography)

Canan Aksoy 11A, Alex On 9B, Ellie James 12H, Amine Minoune 11C, Alice Wentworth 11B,

Francis Olaku 11E

Social Sciences

Francesca Couchman 11E, Hollie Roe 11A, Canan Aksoy 11A, Joseph Osakwe 11D,

Lola Odukoya-Joseph 10E, Chris Bailey 12H

ICT

Drilon Ferati 13F, Sandra Kesse 12F

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Mathematics

Michelle Villamagua 8B, Hayden Leroux 11A, Ahmed Ali 12A, Timothy Ekeh 12H

Modern Foreign Languages

Catriona Poon 10D, Daniel Lee 10D

Music

Vanessa Ritchie-Saurez 13E, Kareem-Jamal Lewis 13F, Agnes Bannerman 11D, Aaron Hayden 11A

Science

Hanh Nguyen 13D, Mustafa Al-Bassam 13C, Zahra Yakoub 9F, Wei Kong Mao 9B,

Bianca Nsiah 11B, Ben Kiang 11A, Harry Gilloway 13A

SEN

Faysal Bano 11E, Amira Thaifa 11B, Mohamed Ghezali 11F, George Dawson 11F

PE

Gedi Juozapaitis 9C, Kanisha Hamilton 9D, Fahima Amin 10G, Chandera Jones-Aryeh 9A,

Joseph Doublet 10G, Kemar Hawes 10E, Latisha Darling Mattis 7H, Harry Smith 7E

Design and Technology

Thomas Olawuyi13E, Danielle Fenn 11E, Jack Webster 10C, Naomi Idowu 9G,

Martinique Bartley 13E, Asma Khan 12C

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Academy Voted for Awards

Principal’s Award

Jack Webster

Nicole Tu

10C 8F

Harold Edey Sixth From

Scholarship

Sarah Allen

11A

Castle Baynard Sixth

Form Prize for providing a live school project which benefits the wellbeing of City of

London Academy pupils

Keegan Hollyhead

13A

Worshipful Company of

Mercers Prize for service to the school

Beatrice Ocero

Artur Tchoudinov

12H 11A

The Guild of Freemen

Award for the Most improved student

Omotara Olajide

Weston Davis

12D 8H

Haberdashers Trophy for highest achieving

student

Duc Nguyen

Hanh Nguyen

12H 13D

Award by the Founding Principal Martyn Coles

for Outstanding Contribution to the School Community

Rada Ouchakova Tanvir Khan

13D 13E

Results days • A and AS Level results Thursday 15th August • GCSE results Thursday 22nd August A Level results can be collected from 8am-11am on Thursday 15th August, and AS Level from 11am-2pm. GCSE examination results will be available to Year 11 students on Thursday 22nd August from 8.30am- 12.00pm. Please remember we are not legally permitted to giv e your son’s/daughter’s

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results over the telephone. All students who have been offered a place in the Sixth Form for September will be invited to enroll on Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd of August. Admissions CoLA remains a fully comprehensive and inclusive school open to all children, irrespective of their ability or aptitude. We are currently five times oversubscribed for Year 7 places and have nearly twice over-subscribed for our Year 12 places. This year we have increased our admissions number to 240 students per year group from Yr7 to Yr11 to support this extra demand, providing more places for students in the local community and further increased our Sixth from numbers. Curriculum CoLA teaches the National Curriculum to ensure students achieve high academic standards across a broad range of subjects. We are now focusing our Key Stage 3 curriculum on interdisciplinary links and are piloting theme based projects in key subject areas from September 2013. School and Sporting Events Below are some of the many incredible events organized by staff and students at the academy throughout this academic year:

� Othello, Burning Bird, Soundclash and Oliver productions � Cola trained with Serena Williams, met Mo Farah, represented Southwark

in London cricket � Kingswood residential trips for both Year 7 and Year 12 groups � Hands up for Health at St Thomas’s Hospital � Rubik’s Challenge at the O2 � Student mentoring with Deloittes LLB � BIMA Day (British Interactive Media Association) � Year 7 and 8 Business and Enterprise Days � Dynamic maths at Imperial College, London

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� Christmas Fair and Concert and Dragon’s Den competition � The Sixth Form Ipad trial � Visit to the Shard � Maths Challenge � Safer Internet Day 2013 � Bow Arts Workshops � World Book Day 2013 � Careers Fair � Yr8 Indoor Athletics Competition � Yr9 Girls Dance Empowerment Programme � Winning the UK Space Design Project for the third time � University of Oxford British Physics Olympiad � Red Nose Day � Allen & Overy Smart Programme � Herbert Smith Freehills Careers Day � Rafiki Network Girls talk event � Brecon Beacons Trekking � Mybnk Financial Skills Workshop � CISCO Essentials courses � Literacy and Numeracy Days � Science Fair (Yr7 and Yr8) � Cyber Mentor training � Lord Mayor’s Visit � Y9 Global and Ethical Business Workshop � Brilliant Club Visit to University of Sussex and Oxford University � The Bankers and Merchants Dinner at Mansion House

Student Voice School and Year Councils have been involved in the organization and delivery of many high profile events, programmes and visits this academic year. A flavour of some of the student leadership involvement is listed below:

� Children in Need fundraising � Department of Education Focus Groups � Interviewing new staff

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� Reviewing the Vivo system � Student debates in form time � Reading Buddies involvement � Students teaching students progamme � Consultations with Principal regarding; Building learning power, PSHE and

Tutor time, Student-led assembly’s, sanctions and rewards and behaviour policies updating, bullying forums, business and enterprise events, BYOD (bring your own device) strategy meetings

� Hustings in assemblies and whole school voting for new head boy, head girl and deputies

� Involvement in interviewing all new staff � Head boy and Head girl question time event � New teachers session on Student Voice

Web Site The new and improved Academy website has now been live for two terms. We are currently making a few minor changes to the format. I would like to remind parents to use the site to answer any general questions they have about the academy and to see the good news items we publish regularly about the Academy. Behaviour Policy The behaviour policy supports the Academy’s inclusive and studious atmosphere. The Academy is proud of its reputation in the local community, and we have very high expectations of all students both inside and outside school. Students are reminded that their conduct to and from school, as well as in our local community, is highly visible and of great importance to the Academy. I can report that there has been a significant impact on standards of behavior this year with complimentary reductions in detentions fixed term and permanent exclusions, mirroring the great work carried out by staff and students on ensuring our high standards are maintained.

Punctuality and Attendance The link between regular attendance and high achievement is supported by

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research evidence and it is encouraging to note that our figures for punctuality and attendance are very good. We appreciate that there are those occasions when students miss school for unavoidable reasons. In such instances please continue to inform us on the first day a student is unable to attend school. Please also let us know the reason for absence and send in a note when the student returns, confirming the details of the absence. We have a direct telephone line for reporting student absences: Mrs. Goddard, attendance officer on 0207 394 5127 Parents are also reminded that the school should be informed promptly of any absence known in advance. Holidays should not be arranged during term time. Your co-operation is much appreciated.

Sixth Form 2013

Uniform Standards

Our school uniform in Years 7 to11 is part of our successful culture of high standards and expectations. Full details of the correct uniform and PE kit are

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given to all new parents and further copies are available from the school office and on our website. In the early weeks of the autumn term coats need only be worn if the weather requires it and all coats should be plain and a dark blue or navy in colour. Extremes of fashion such as leather coats, coats with fur collars or hoods, hooded sweatshirts and very long or very short skirts are not allowed. School shirts should be plain white, non-fitted, and with a top button to accommodate a school tie. Trousers should be tailored, worn at the proper length and be in good repair. No legging-style trousers, jeans, cords or similar are allowed. Students are also asked to wear the uniform properly with ties full length and shirts tucked in at all times. Shoes should be plain black leather (no boots, visible brands, no buckles, no suede, no trainers, no air force or converse, no plimsolls) Your continued support with this is appreciated. Jewellery is restricted to no more than one ring on each hand and one pair of small, plain silver or gold studs or sleeper earrings (no diamanté, glass shaped or pearl earrings, and no facial piercings). Finally, scarves and hair bands should be plain, dark blue or black, hair should not be sculptured and natural colours only, and we expect no coloured nail varnish or fake nails or eyelashes. I would ask that you ensure all students are in the correct school uniform for the start of the next academic year. Students out of uniform will be sent home to change. Can I thank you in advance for your support on this equality issue. School Equipment Students should come to school every day with the necessary equipment for their lessons: pens, pencils, rulers etc. Students should always have their school planner with them. Expensive items such as mobile telephones will be confiscated if seen in the school during Academy opening hours. Please remind students to ensure their phones are handed into reception if they are brought to the academy. If phones are consistently confiscated parents will be asked to collect their child’s phone from the academy.

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E-Safety The academy has taken great steps to raise awareness around issues of e-safety, and I remind parents to be very conscious of their child’s use of the internet and social media. As an academy we are a bully-free community and aim to address all incidents of bullying fairly and efficiently. This year we have trained 30 student leaders as cyber mentors to support students in situations where cyber-bullying or other such behaviour has occurred.

I have included below some important web links for parents to access and learn about the importance of e safety below:

www.vodafone.com/content/index/parents.html

www.theparentzone.co.uk/talktalk_homesafe_challenge

www.saferinternet.org/web/guest/digitaluniverse

www.childnet.com/kia/parents/ Home School Agreement and Home Learning All parents and students have a home school agreement which includes guidance on the Academy’s expectations and our commitments to students. The Academy sets home learning for all students. However, sometimes home learning may not be set for good reasons such as examinations or teacher absence. If you feel your son or daughter regularly receives too much or too little home learning please contact the form tutor in the first instance.

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Year 7 to Year 11 students 2013

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Sixth Form Enrolment The new Year 12 students will be invited to enroll over a two-day period on August 22nd, GCSE results day and Friday 23rd August. Please look out for information from the Head of Sixth form and her team about arrangements for these days. We expect our biggest Year 12 and Post-16 student body this year and place will fill quickly. Free School Meals Parents who feel their child is entitled to free school meals are able to contact the Academy for an application form; support is available to understand the criteria that must be met to receive free school meals. Please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Amin- Cole in the academy finance team with your questions. Contact Information Please inform the academy general office of any changes or corrections to your contact details to enable us to contact you in case of any emergency.

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End of Term arrangements School will start normally from 8.30 a.m. on Friday 19 July 2013, the last day of term. During the morning, end of year celebration assemblies will take place, starting with the Sixth Form at 10.00am. Sixth Form will be dismissed for the summer holiday at 11am. Year’s 7,8,9 and 10 will attend their celebration assemblies from 11am until 12.10pm and will be dismissed for the summer holidays in year groups at 12.15 p.m. Any student with a school meal entitlement is able to collect a packed lunch from the restaurant before leaving. Start of term arrangements Tuesday 3 rd September 2013 Term starts for all students on Tuesday 3rd September 2013. To allow for the induction of new year groups, we will run a staggered start to the day. School will start at the following times.

Year 7, 10, 12 and 13 : 8.30am

Year 8, 9, 11: 9.50am

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Term dates 2013-14

Autumn Term

Inset day Monday 2nd September 2013 Students return – Tuesday 3rd September 2013

Half term – Monday 28th October 2013 – Friday 1st November 2013 Students return - Monday 4th November 2013

Inset day Monday December 2nd 2013 (Banding Test) Term ends – Friday 20th December 2013

Spring Term

Inset day Monday 6th January 2014

Students return – Tuesday 7th January 2014 Half term – Monday 17th February 2014 – Friday 21st February 2014

Students return - Monday 24th February 2014 Term ends – Friday 4th April 2014

Summer Term

Students return – Monday 22nd April 2014 May Bank Holiday - Monday 5th May 2014

Half term – Monday 26th May 2014 – Friday 30th May 2014 Students return - Monday 2nd June 2014

Term ends – Friday 18th July 2014 Please note one additional inset day to be confirme d

Parents Teacher Association (PTA)

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The PTA needs your help to support our Academy and we would like to involve parents in the re-launch of our PTA. If you would like any more information about the PTA then please do not hesitate to contact the academy on info@cityacademy.co.uk Staffing As with most London schools, a few valued colleagues always move on at the end of the Academic year. This year we say goodbye to long-standing colleagues including as Assistant Principal Simon McBride who has been successfully promoted to Vice Principal at UCL Academy; Anna Patterson, Head of English who is moving into SEN and Inclusion at St. Michaels and Dave Clifford, Head of Year 11 who is retiring. I would like to wish all our staff leavers the very best for their new jobs and give them our thanks for all their hard work and support in the Academy. We wish all our colleagues moving on to new positions all the best, and I would like to thank them for their hard work and commitment to the students and community at CoLA. On behalf of the staff I wish you all a very happy summer and we look forward to seeing you in the autumn term. Yours sincerely,

Richard Bannister Principal