Welcome to the Secondary Academy
A very warm welcome to the new academic year at Wellington Academy, Al Khail. I am absolutely delighted to be here with you as we embark on an exciting year of growth, excellence and aspiration. One thing is for sure, education has evolved over the last 2 years and we will take the best parts of that evolution and continue to build on the provision we pride ourselves on, both academically and holistically.
Looking ahead to the year, our priorities within the secondary school are rooted firmly in building on our success. This means evaluating what is working well and continuing to build on all aspects of teaching, learning and the personal and social development of our students. One area that we are particularly excited about is the expansion of the pathways at Post 16 and the integration of our new BTEC subjects, ensuring that all students have the opportunity to access education that suits their aspiration and need. I am particularly keen to see these subjects embed into the Academy offering as they are truly fantastic courses with innovative links to industry and the wider community.
Furthermore, we will be looking at opportunity across secondary for students to develop their entrepreneurial and enterprise skills through application to real life scenarios in lessons across all key stages. We will continue to build on the partnership with High Performance Learning (HPL), upholding the belief that every child can succeed, breaking the glass ceiling of categorising students by ability, and instead expecting high performance from everyone and systematically building towards it.
This is where the home-school partnership is a really significant relationship, as the home environment is important in the quest for success. Children who come from homes where there is conversation between adults and children, where they have books to read, games to play and have help with character development will thrive, as these interactions further fuel their learning in the classroom. The HPL philosophy believes that high achievement and curiosity are linked, enabling our children to build empathy, encourage collaboration and an expectation that they can achieve highly. This is something that we will actively encourage in the classroom, on the sports field, in the school productions and the other countless extra-curricular opportunities at The Academy, and we look forward to working with you as parents to reinforce this at home. Whether you are new to the Academy family or a parent of a returning student, please do take some time to read the parent handbook as it has a wealth of information to help you support your child with their education.
Another important focus this year at the Academy is ensuring the happiness of our students, parents and staff. Happiness is a fundamental part of education, and research shows a direct relationship between a child’s happiness at school and aspects of their behaviours. We can all remember our school days and the experiences that made us happy and what made us unhappy. Our children spend approximately 20,000 hours in school throughout their school career (excluding extracurricular) and so their happiness is important. Therefore, we will focus on happiness and wellbeing, ensuring that our school community have opportunity both in and out of the classroom to make memories and build relationships that make them truly fulfilled.
Gemma Thornley
Secondary Principal
