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Dear Leigh Academy Bexley Community,
This week began with the publishing of our Ofsted report of which we are really proud. The report, which highlights the academy’s remarkable improvement journey since joining Leigh Academies Trust in June 2023, is a testament to our students who demonstrated their sense of belonging and passion for learning throughout the visit. It also belongs to you, our families, whose partnership is vital in becoming the local secondary school of choice for our community.
We have had some difficulties this week with our communication systems, which were only discovered yesterday. Our system was showing emails and messages as being sent but you were not receiving them. This has meant that once the issue was resolved, our system began bulk-sending the back-log of undelivered messages! We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused and the potential receipt of communication during unsocial hours. We have been assured that the problem is now sorted as communication is of paramount importance to us.
Our second Cultural Capital Day of the academic year has been a huge success again today with 16 trips to various museums and activities for our students to learn beyond the classroom. We will share more details with you in our end of term newsletter, LABextra!
Please enjoy this week’s bulletin and 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
Celebrating an Unforgettable Year 11 Prom!
What a spectacular night! Last week, our Year 11 students celebrated their Prom, and it was an absolute triumph from start to finish. We want to extend a huge thank you to all our families for supporting this event and allowing your children to attend—it was a joy to see so many parents, carers, guardians, and extended family members arriving to cheer them on.
The evening got off to a spectacular start with a glamorous red carpet arrival. Students stepped out in style from an incredible lineup of cars, welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd of cheering friends. The excitement was so infectious that everyone willingly sacrificed the cool comfort of the air-conditioned venue, remaining outside to celebrate and cheer on every single arrival until the final car rolled in.
Inside, the energy didn’t drop for a second.
Highlights of the night included:
- The Big Surprises: A surprise ice-cream van appearance went down an absolute treat.
- Special Mentions: Our custom sweet cart – bespoke-built by Mr. Wilson (our very own Mrs Wilson’s husband) was loaded with sweet treats. In addition, beautiful, delicious cupcakes lovingly baked by Miss G Wilson were on display and thoroughly enjoyed by all!
- The Buffet: Huge thanks to Mrs. Bateson and Ms Rafferty who put so much care into supporting Mrs Sardar and Miss Green preparing a fantastic sandwich selection enjoyed by all and also to Ms Nieto for helping display the delicious ensemble.
- Non-Stop Dancing: The dancefloor was packed all night. Even when the lights came on, the DJ was reluctant to stop playing!
- Memories Captured: The photobooth was in constant use, with even a few staff members spotted sneaking in to capture some fun memories.
An Update on Official Photos: We know everyone is eager to see the professional shots from our official photographer! We are currently waiting to receive the images, after which we will do a quick final check before sharing them with the Year 11 community. Thank you so much for your patience; we will be in touch as soon as they are ready to view.
A HUGE thank you to our committed Prom Team, Mrs Sardar, Miss Green, Mrs Wilson and Miss Wilson along with Miss Mann. Events like these take time to plan, which this lovely group of people volunteered to do. We thank members of staff who also supported our young people to enjoy the night!
It was a beautiful, well-deserved celebration for an incredible year group!
We wish them all the best and hope they keep in touch as our LABex alumni continue to grow in numbers.
Humanities
Shining Through the Summer Heat in Humanities!
Last week brought some intense summer sunshine, which naturally made our Humanities classrooms quite warm! This week has been pretty similar! We want to give a huge shout-out to our students for their fantastic engagement during these very warm days.
We have been impressed by the maturity and focus on display; the commitment to learning didn’t waiver for a second despite the rising temperatures.
This week we look into our Geographers and what they have been studying whilst the Year 10 students are on work experience:
�� Our Geographers have been traveling the world through their studies this week, diving into some incredibly diverse topics with fantastic focus!
- History & Horizons: Year 8 students have been looking closely at the African continent, exploring the powerful ways in which Africa’s past has actively shaped its vibrant present.
- Dynamic Landscapes: Moving to the coastlines, Year 9 classes have been investigating the powerful natural forces of transportation and deposition—specifically uncovering the fascinating processes that form unique coastal features like spits, bays, and tombolos.
- Global Environments: Finally, Year 7 students have been exploring the vast and varied environments of China, looking at how its unique landscapes and climates shape life there.
We are incredibly proud of the depth of curiosity our students have shown across all year groups this week!
Free Summer Reading with First News!
We are excited to share that Leigh Academy Bexley has signed up for the First News 2026 Summer Reading Scheme. This means all of our pupils can get free digital access to First News over the summer holidays!
First News is an award-winning weekly newspaper packed with world news, sport, entertainment, and puzzles, designed specifically to keep children engaged and learning.
What’s Included?
- Full Access: Read the weekly newspaper via the app or web browser.
- Daily Content: News stories to read, watch, or listen to every day.
- Fun extras: Weekly quizzes, interactive polls, and brain-teasing puzzles.
How to Sign Up
Access is completely free and runs from 9 July to 4 September 2026. To get your child set up before the holidays begin, simply click the link below and fill out a quick form:
https://subscribe.firstnews.co.uk/summer-reading-2026/220852592732/
Once you register, your login details for the First News app will be emailed to you on 9 July, just in time for the summer break.
We hope you and your children enjoy exploring the news together this summer!
Mrs J Allen | Library Manager
Year 9 Maths trip
On Thursday 2nd July we had the pleasure of taking our year 9 students to Greenwich University, to not only explore their beautiful grounds, but to see the link that Maths has with Art, Music, Chaos and Game Theory. Students had the opportunity to think about Maths beyond the classroom as well as learning more about Maths careers. The students were engaged and inquisitive with questions. Thank you to students, staff and Greenwich university for this opportunity.
Mrs J Shiyani | Head of Knole College
Leigh Academy Bexley is a Candidate School* for the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Careers Related Programme (IBCP). This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy – a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that Leigh Academy Bexley believes is important for our students.
*Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme, or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit www.ibo.org
