Dear Leigh Academy Bexley Community,
As we reach the end of Module 3, the half-way point through the academic year, I am proud to share with you our latest news and celebrate the diverse talents and dedication of our students across all year groups.
It has been wonderful to see our enrichment activities thrive, such as the relaunch of the Leigh Academy Debate Club. Our Year 9 students have already shown impressive critical thinking and logic as they learn the art of evidence-based argumentation. Similarly, our Year 11 students are showing great focus as they embark on the Humanities Final 90 competition, building the daily habits necessary for success in their upcoming exams.
Our students have also excelled beyond the academy walls. We are delighted with our performers who participated in the Bexley’s Got Talent Encore at Erith Playhouse, representing Leigh Academy Bexley with high-quality musical and dance performances. Our Year 7 and 8 students recently explored the creative industries at Sky Studios Elstree, where they demonstrated exceptional teamwork and professionalism while filming and producing their own productions.
Module 4 begins on Monday 23rd February at the normal time. As always, if we can support you in any way, please contact us via info@bexley.latrust.org.uk, where we will make every endeavour to respond within 24 hours.
Best wishes,
Mr John Dixon | Principal, Leigh Academy Bexley
Leigh Academy Debate Club: The Relaunch
After a short break while our Sixth Formers focused on mocks, the Leigh Academy Debate Club is officially back—and the energy is fantastic.
We have seen a brilliant new group of Year 9s join us. They have been practicing the difficult skill of arguing against their own personal opinions, which has really opened up how they think. They are
Humanities Heroes: The Final 90
We are excited to launch the Humanities Final 90 competition for our Year 11s!
To help them continue to remain focused, students will be set one short, manageable task on Google Classroom every day for the 90 days leading up to their final exams. For many subjects, the clock starts this weekend.
Please encourage your students to sign up as soon as possible—it’s the perfect way to turn small daily habits into big exam results.
Mrs L Turner | Director of Learning Humanities
Bexley’s Got Talent Encore – Erith Playhouse Theatre
On Sunday 8 February, Erith Playhouse hosted Bexley’s Got Talent Encore, an evening dedicated to musical performances in singing and dancing. The evening was about celebrating the winning singers from the original competition across the Bexley Borough and Connor Bowes was one of the finalists! In the dancing troupe we had Tillie Jackson delivering highly impressive dance routines. As Alison Bowdery, Supervisor of our Cucina kitchen pointed out: “It was really great, and they only had three weeks to put all that together”. Incredible that they achieved so much in such a short space of time.
The programme showcased all 4 performers singing three solo numbers, duets and a group piece. The mix of solo, duet, and ensemble singing and dancing kept the performance clapping all the way through. The whole evening ended with the audience on their feet and performers down the aisle – all of us dancing along!
Leigh Academy Bexley was well represented amongst this small cast of high quality talent.
Bexley’s Got Talent Encore was truly an exciting and wonderful celebration of local talent, showing how shared performances can bring people together, and highlighting the continued importance of venues like Erith Playhouse in supporting community arts.
Mrs H Forbes-Bareham | Coordinator of Learning – Visual and Performing Arts
Lights, Camera, Careers: Year 7 & 8 Visit Sky Studios Elstree
As part of our commitment to providing students with meaningful careers opportunities and helping them link school subjects to the world of work, some of our Year 7 and 8 students were invited to visit Sky Studios Elstree to explore a wide range of careers within the creative industries.
Students took part in an immersive, hands-on experience where they were tasked to write their own storyline, film, direct, style, edit, act, and produce their own short productions. They worked collaboratively, delegating roles, drafting and plotting their storylines with great attention to detail. It was inspiring to see students fully immerse themselves in their new roles, with each stage of the filmmaking process building their confidence.
Our students not only thoroughly enjoyed the film production experience, but were also keen to learn more about the wide variety of careers available at Sky. Each workshop included interactive engagement between our students and the Sky Up team, providing valuable insight into real-world career pathways.
Our students represented the school exceptionally well, demonstrating kindness, teamwork, and mutual support. They respected the boundaries and expectations set by Sky Up and remained focused throughout the day—ending the experience in high spirits, singing together on the coach journey back to school.
This was followed by a structured reflection back in school, where students discussed the different careers, skills, and pathways they had been introduced to. Students then used Unifrog to record the professions they learned about during the visit, along with the skills they had begun to develop through the experience.
Mrs J Arthur-Amponsah | Deputy Head of Holkham College
T-Level Digital – Student Reflections
During my work experience, I gained hands-on experience in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), internal linking, content optimisation and digital marketing design. I developed practical skills using tools such as Ahrefs, Screaming Frog, Excel, Canva and Google Colab, while learning how Google Search works, how pages are ranked and how strategic keyword usage can improve website visibility.
Key Tasks:
- Keyword Research & On-Page SEO: Conducted research for Johnson Analytical, optimised page copy with target keywords, improved heading structures and added internal links to enhance search engine performance.
- Internal Linking Reports: Created reports for Sigma and Fruit4London, analysing pages to add relevant internal links and documenting opportunities in Excel.
- LinkedIn Campaign Asset: Designed a Canva graphic for the Milton Park case study, communicating key messages clearly while following brand guidelines.
Highlights & Takeaways:
I most enjoyed contributing to real projects and seeing how my work had a direct impact. The supportive and friendly environment made learning and collaboration enjoyable. One challenge was adapting to a website crawling tool in Google Colab, but troubleshooting issues like duplicated data taught me problem-solving and technical adaptability.
The experience strengthened my interest in computer science, showing how programming and automation can solve real-world problems. Overall, it boosted my confidence, technical skills and understanding of digital marketing and inspired me to continue exploring technology and coding opportunities.
Anjola F | Year 13
LAT Swimming Gala
On Wednesday 4th February, three Year 8 and 9 students travelled to Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School to compete in the Leigh Academies Trust Swimming Gala. All three students represented our academy with determination, resilience and pride throughout the event.
The two girls approached their races with a fantastic attitude, giving their very best in a highly competitive field. Although they did not progress through to the finals, they demonstrated excellent effort, focus and sportsmanship, showing real courage to step up and compete against strong swimmers from across the Trust. Their commitment and positive mindset were a credit to themselves and the academy, and they should be extremely proud of their performances.
Harvey was swimming in his least favourite stroke but showed great resilience and composure under pressure. He narrowly missed out on first place in his heat, finishing a very close second, which was enough to secure him a place in the final. In the final race, Harvey gave everything he had and finished in an admirable fourth place, just missing out on a medal. His determination and willingness to push himself outside of his comfort zone were outstanding.
All three students conducted themselves impeccably throughout the competition and represented the academy with pride. Their effort, attitude and behaviour made them excellent ambassadors, and the event was a valuable and positive experience for everyone involved.
Mrs S Beswick | Coordinator of Learning – PE
International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) – Energy in Foods Investigation
Inquiry Question: How much Energy is in Food?
Year 8 pupils actively engaged as scientists to determine the energy content of various foods through the process of calorimetry. Working in collaborative small groups, students were responsible for the precise setup of their apparatus, including measuring 20ml of water and recording the initial mass of various foods to two decimal places. During the heating phase, pupils demonstrated high levels of focus by monitoring temperature increments and ensuring consistent thermal distribution before and after heating. Participation also extended to rigorous safety management, with students independently managing heat-proof mats and identifying the potential hazards of open flames whilst using bunsen burners safely.
Mr S Bangard | Coordinator of Learning Science
Fast Track to the Top
Take a look at the article below by one our Woburn College students who certainly embodies our resilience value:
My journey into athletics was completely unexpected; I was originally a gymnast until I was scouted at a school sports day to run for Greenwich Borough at age 14. At the time, I knew almost nothing about track, but after a strong performance in the 100m at the London Borough competition, I was recruited by Mick Bond to join the Cambridge Harriers. For the past two years, I’ve been training at Sutcliffe Park under my coach, Kenny Walters, and the growth has been incredible. I’ve represented London at the English Schools Championships – where I proudly took Gold – and navigated the challenge of a torn quad in 2025. After six months of rehab, I made a resilient comeback in May for the Outdoor UK Nationals, and the 2026 season has been my best yet.
Just last weekend at the UK Indoor National Championships, I set new personal records with a 7.67s in the 60m and a 3rd place finish in the 200m at 24.67s. I am currently ranked top 10 in the UK for the 200m where I sit 7th in England, and ranked top 5 in the 60m in London. With the support of Leigh Academy, I am eager to transition into the outdoor season and continue contributing my talents to the community.
Danielle A | Year 12
