Dear Leigh Academy Bexley Community
The warmer weather has certainly arrived; as I write this newsletter the sun is shining brightly on Leigh Academy Bexley. Our Year 11 and 13 students are almost at the end of their public examinations now and we are incredibly proud of their dedication and commitment at this important time in their lives.
Learning continued as normal this week and our subject leaders have been working closely with the Leigh Academies Trust Curriculum Advisors team to purposefully shape and develop the curriculum for next year. I hope you enjoy our regular newsletter articles this week.
As always, if we can support you in any way please contact us via info@labexley.org.uk, where we will make every endeavour to respond within 24 hours.
Best wishes,
Mr John Dixon | Principal, Leigh Academy Bexley
🌟 Celebrating Academic Success
We are pleased to celebrate and recognise our highest-performing students on the SPARX platform.
These students have demonstrated outstanding dedication, effort, and consistency in their home independent learning, showcasing their commitment to excellence in English, Mathematics and Science.
Congratulations to all of them for their hard work and achievement!
Their perseverance serves as an inspiration to their peers, and we encourage all students to continue engaging with SPARX to support their learning and progress.
English
- Olawamiri O – Year 8
- Blessing A – Year 7
- Samuel M – Year 7
- Yuliia L – Year 7
- Vivian E – Year 8
- Ronnie B – Year 9
- Dolly-Anne C – Year 7
- Taylor Z – Year 9
- Leo J – Year 8
- Katrina S – Year 9
Mathematics
- Jennifer S – Year 7
- Alfie A – Year 9
- Samson O – Year 8
- Samayra P – Year 9
- Tamzin R – Year 9
- Jack A – Year 8
- Aisha A – Year 7
- Danny-James J – Year 8
- Olivia-May G – Year 8
- Nevaeh P – Year 9
Science
- Barakah H – Year 7
- Teddy D – Year 7
- Ruben C – Year 7
- Blessing A – Year 7
- Daniel H – Year 10
- Summer Y – Year 7
- Praise W – Year 7
- Henry J – Year 7
- Yoel P – Year 8
- Marcus SM – Year 10
- Olivia G – Year 8
MYP (Middle Years Programme)
🧠🌍 Diving Deep: Unpacking the “Communicator” Learner Profile
Last module, we introduced the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) curriculum we proudly follow as a candidate school. This week, we’re putting a spotlight on one of the ten crucial Learner Profile attributes: being a Communicator!
What Does it Mean to Be a “Communicator”?
In the IB MYP, a Communicator is a student who can:
- Express themselves clearly and confidently in more than one language.
- Listen carefully and respectfully to others.
- Work well with others to share ideas and understand different viewpoints.
- Use diverse ways to communicate, such as speaking, writing, drawing, using technology, or performing.
✅ What This Looks Like in School:
You’ll see your child:
- Giving presentations
- Joining class discussions
- Collaborating on group projects
- Learning to speak or write in a second language (like French or Spanish)
- Being an active listener and respectful teammate
🌍 Why It Matters:
In our global world, being able to share ideas and understand others is a key life skill. Whether it’s solving problems, building relationships, or working in a team, strong communication helps students succeed in school—and beyond!
Next week, we’ll delve into another fascinating aspect of the MYP Learner Profile!
CPD Corner: How we support Teachers
This week our teachers have been busy focusing on how to improve their use of our new crib-sheets.
As the students are busy completing their independent work in the classroom, our teachers are ‘hunting’ for anything that the class has not quite understood. They then use this as an opportunity to re-teach the content and then design some activities that students complete in a review lesson.
Our teachers were busy sharing ideas with each other on Tuesday in the training session.
We look forward to hearing more from them!
Bringing Learning to Life: Our Classroom Display Boards
Step into any classroom at Leigh Academy Bexley, and you’ll be greeted by vibrant, purposeful display boards that bring learning to life! Designed to inspire and support our students, each board is carefully curated to reflect what’s happening in the classroom.
Here’s what you’ll typically find:
Humanities reading display – these are a collection of books that the Humanities’ teachers are encouraging LAB students to read to discover even more about our subjects.
Student Voice
Our Year 12 History students have been actively engaging with our whole-school literacy strategy by using the Frayer Model to explore the meaning of the word ‘growth’ in the context of their A Level essays. They were surprised by how valuable it was to break the word down—examining its definition, characteristics, examples, and non-examples—before applying it to their studies of 17th-century history.
“I found this really useful in rethinking what the keyword meant before using it to plan my essay.”
– Year 12 Student
🚀 Strive Corner: Extending Your Child’s Learning
Each week in Strive Corner, we’ll spotlight either an exceptional piece of student challenge work or a useful tip to support independent thinking and stretch learning further.
This space is designed to celebrate subject passion, curiosity, and learning that goes beyond the core curriculum. Whether it’s showcasing outstanding work or sharing simple strategies, our aim is to provide a glimpse into how students are challenging themselves — and to inspire the same enthusiasm and depth at home.
Geography Spotlight: Year 8 River Studies
Our Year 8 students have been working hard to understand and describe the features of rivers and how erosion shapes the landscape.
Using key geographical vocabulary, they have shown real progress in their written work.
One student confidently explained how the meander is very high in discharge and how the river cuts across the neck – demonstrating a solid understanding of how oxbow lakes are formed.
It’s been fantastic to see students using precise terms like discharge, erosion, and meander to explain complex river processes with growing confidence!
