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The Langley Academy is delighted to announce that our application to open The Langley

Academy Primary, and therefore become an all-through school, has been accepted by the

Department for Education, with the first intake into Nursery and Reception in September 2015.

It is our ambition to become an outstanding all-through academy by offering an inspirational

curriculum that supports the principles of both depth and breadth. We will be placing a strong

emphasis on literacy and

numeracy – the vital ‘3Rs’

of reading, writing and

arithmetic. We know that

we must provide much

more than just outstanding

SAT results and will work to

develop children’s social

skills. We will give them

opportunities that they are

unlikely to get at a ‘normal’

state school. We will

provide a stable

foundation that sets our

students apart from others and gives them a real sense of self-belief and confidence that is so

important in the mind-set of a successful individual.

NEWSLETTER ISSUE 3 - FEBRUARY 2014

A school of choice, a school for life -

The Langley Academy gets go ahead

to become an all-through school!

Students take part in ‘Court in the Act’ – See Page 30

Buy tickets for

the TLA Theatre

production here

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The Langley Academy Primary will offer unique opportunities for children of all abilities with a

philosophy based on providing an experience that allows them to become confident,

independent and creative. We will achieve this by having extremely high expectations of

ourselves and those around us.

We will place great emphasis on the qualities of honesty, integrity, work ethic, selflessness,

resilience, teamwork, innovation and initiative; qualities that can be better embedded at

primary level.

For parents and carers who would like their child to join The Langley Academy Primary and

therefore be guaranteed a place at the heavily oversubscribed Secondary Academy; or if you

would be interested in becoming a governor, or are interested in working at The Langley

Academy Primary, please send an email to: tlaprimary@langleyacademy.org

For more information go to the new The Langley Academy Primary website:

http://www.langleyacademyprimary.org/

February

Wednesday 12 Year 8 Academic Afternoon 14:00 – 16:00

Friday 14 End of Half Term 13:20

Monday 24 Start of 4th Half Term 08:20

Monday 24 Little Shop of Horrors Performance 19:00 – 21:30

Tuesday 25 Little Shop of Horrors Performance 19:00 – 21:30

Wednesday 26 Little Shop of Horrors Performance 19:00 – 21:30

March

Thursday 13 Year 7 Parent/Carer Evening 16:30 – 19:00

Wednesday 19 Parent Forum 18:00 – 19:00

Thursday 20 AIG Evening 16:30 – 19:00

April Friday 4 End of First half term, Term 2 12:00

Tuesday 22 INSET – Academy closed for students

Wednesday 23 Academy opens for start of Second half term, Term 2 08:20

Dates for your Diary

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The Academy has been exceptionally busy with hundreds of events ranging from Year 10

visiting the Guildhall Magistrates Court and all 40 of our Duke of Edinburgh students achieving

their bronze certificate to Years 11 and 12 /13 preparing for their Pre-Public Exams at the end

of this half-term and in March respectively.

Of course all of these things are put into perspective given

the tragic loss that the Academy has suffered in recent

weeks. Rishi Kukar, aged 16 passed away on Tuesday 21

January and George Quigg, aged just 11, died on Sunday 26

January.

Rishi was a hardworking young man with a golden smile and

selfless approach to life. He made people feel better about

themselves and was always striving to be the best he could

be. He left the Academy having achieved some great GCSE

results so that he could follow his brother into Upton Court

Grammar school where we know he continued to be

successful.

George was a very young man with an old head on his shoulders.

He was very inquisitive, fun loving and had a special ability to

make people feel comfortable in his company, whatever their age.

He had settled in very well to the Academy and enjoyed the

variety of experiences offered, including playing the flute, he was

a talented musician.

Both boys will be sorely missed but never forgotten and when the

time is right, we will discuss with both families how best to remember the boys for their unique

talents and the joy they brought to so many.

The Academy has worked very hard with the appropriate agencies, including the Samaritans to

ensure that students and staff feel safe and supported throughout this traumatic time. We feel

honoured to have known both boys and will make sure that they would be proud in the way we

have responded and the way we will continue to respond over the coming weeks, months and

years.

Our thoughts are with both families.

Rhodri Bryant, Principal

Message from the Principal

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Governors were delighted to receive news from Lord Nash, Minister for Schools, that we have been given permission to proceed with our plans to build The Langley Academy Primary school. This new school will open in September 2015 admitting pupils into Nursery and Reception from the local community. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for the Academy and our community. The Minister recognised that there is an urgent need for new Primary school places in Slough and reflected that our bid was particularly strong in terms of the capacity of our expert team tasked with delivering the new school. The new Primary school will allow us to take in pupils at age 4 and to offer them a ‘School for Life’ by guaranteeing The Langley Academy Primary pupils a place at The Langley Academy when they reach Year 7. The Langley Academy Primary will offer numerous opportunities for your children. The Langley Academy students will have the chance to mentor children in the Primary and will take on duties which will allow them to develop as leaders and will allow them to take on responsibilities whether by helping in the playground at break time or giving reading support to younger pupils, etc. All of these opportunities will give your children the chance to develop as the well rounded, caring, sensitive adults that we aim for them to become when they leave us at 18 years old. This is a very exciting period for us, whilst we develop our plans to open the Primary. I would like to also reassure you that the team delivering the Primary will ensure that attention and resources are not diverted from our mission to make The Langley Academy outstanding in all aspects. We have a clear and ambitious plan for the Academy to keep improving and doing everything it can to give absolutely the best education to all of our students. This will not change. The Primary school will strengthen our organisation. We are running an ‘Expression of Interest’ list for parents of children who will be eligible to join

The Langley Academy Primary in Nursery or Reception in September 2015 and 2016. For more

information, or to register your interest in a place for your child, please go to

http://www.langleyacademyprimary.org/ or email: tlaprimary@langleyacademy.org

Annabel Nicoll, Chair of Governors

Message from the Governors

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It has been another exciting term in Arbib House as students fully immersed themselves in the

“Sustainability” project. Students were asked to come up with a sustainable way of saving

endangered species. Arbib House selected Tigers as our focus. All 6 Tutor Groups came

together to create a display including videos, posters and models to spread the word of how

people can help save the beautiful Tiger. We also had assemblies delivered by Arbib 5 and 6

this term that involved questions, videos, great information and role plays as they spoke about

anger management, inspirational people and overcoming obstacles.

This term Arbib House were able to show off our Museum Learning focus once again as the

actual FA Cup made its way to the Academy. The trophy worth over £1.5 million was brought

into the Arbib assembly and Mr Sullivan along with Ms Blay and Ms Barker gave a presentation

of the traditions and history of the trophy and how students could relate that to their studies.

Students were also able to have a photo with the Iconic cup.

ARBIB HOUSE

The FA Cup comes to TLA

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I would personally like to thank Year 11 parents and carers of Arbib students for their

attendance to the recent parent/carer evening. We were once again very well supported and

this can have a huge impact on the attainment and success of our students.

I ask that Arbib students continue to aim for the top in attendance, punctuality and attainment

and I am sure we can keep up the outstanding efforts moving on into next term!

Well done Arbib and keep up the good work.

Young Ice Hockey star receives fitness boost

As part of Slough Community Leisure’s continued support of local sporting talent, 13-year-old

Lewis English has been given a free Synergy Health & Fitness membership allowing him to make

use of the gym and swimming facilities at both Montem and Langley Leisure Centres.

Having first tried ice skating when he was just six years old, Lewis English has gone on to

represent the England U13’s ice hockey team and has recently been selected to play for the

U14 team.

In 2013 Lewis travelled with the England team to play in Canada, as well as the Czech Republic

at Christmas. Lewis says, “I would really like to progress in the sport and represent Great

Britain at some stage, as well as hopefully receiving a scholarship to play overseas. Ice hockey

is a major part of my life and I love playing the sport. I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone

at Slough Jets; they do so much for the junior programme. To help me achieve my goals it’s

really important for me to keep fit and healthy and the Synergy Health & Fitness pass will really

help me out.”

Mr Sullivan delivers the FA Cup Assembly to Arbib House Gregory Edwards, Arbib Head Boy Akash Babuta and Reko Ndlovu with the

FA Cup

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Rob Whitehouse, Chief Executive at Slough Community Leisure, commented, “It’s important for

us to be able to support the local community. By being able to give Lewis free use of the

facilities at Montem and Langley Leisure Centres we hope that he will be able to reach his

potential and fulfil his aims. We wish Lewis every success in the future.”

Ms Whelan

Lewis English with staff from Synergy Health & Fitness

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Too late for the previous Newsletter article, but of supreme significance to Darwin House, is

the final emergence of another winning Darwin team performance.

Darwin 3, so often in the past thwarted by interpretation of competition design rules, finally

satisfied the judges to produce this winning Cracker: the best packaging of foodstuffs for the

Christmas period to be distributed among the Langley community.

It is the turn of Darwin House to drive the Vertical Tutor Programme next half term. Combining

with the Science department and including Science Week, the theme will be The Senses. I am

sure that all Darwin House Tutor Groups will want to win the prize for the best project and that

Ms Blackmore will want to win again.

Finally, time is short for the Darwin House Year 11 students to drive toward the academic

finishing line for great GCSE academic success. Last year, our students enjoyed wonderful GCSE

results, and now is the time to make sure that the picture is the same for this academic year.

Darwin House students work hard and work smart. Enjoy the break, but do not lose sight of

being able to open the next academic door by doing really well at this critical stage.

Mr Bott

DARWIN HOUSE

Showing off the winning design are members of Darwin 3: Delza Brown, Fazile Zogjani, Amirah Riaz, Charlotte Bedford, Amrit Bu dwhal

and Eshaa Rehan. The ever combative House Tutor for Darwin 3, Miss Blackmore feels that justice had been finally done!

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Term 3 has seen Gaia House lead the Academy in the Vertical Tutor Programme (VTP) and

again develop everyone’s awareness and understanding of Sustainability.

The focus for the term has been Habitat Loss where the topics have varied from Human Causes

to Deforestation and Urbanisation to Climate Change. The Academy was set the challenge of

developing and producing a Campaign for a chosen endangered animal from around the world.

The focus for Sustainability Week has seen students working hard to complete their

Endangered Animal Campaigns, where they have to be voted in by their peers and Houses

during assemblies. Each house was assigned an endangered animal for which to run an

awareness campaign during Sustainability Week. The animals chosen included the Asian

Elephant the Orang-utan, the Leopard, the Tiger, the Marine Turtle and the Giant Panda.

Students have had the term to prepare their campaigns and are marked on Sustainability,

Creativity and the quality of information provided.

During Sustainability Week a number of

activities will be taking place, on the Monday

we are taking 30 students to Kew Gardens to

take part in the Deforestation Workshop.

Throughout the week Year 7s are making

paper to work with in art and Year 8 students

are taking part in tailor made Museum

Learning Workshops based on a variety of

objects from the Rainforests. On Wednesday,

for the first time at the Academy we are

holding an Environmental Fayre when local environmental agencies are setting up stalls for

students to visit and learn from. Finally we have had a team of dedicated students working

hard to produce a rainforest canopy to decorate the Academy to create the feeling of walking

into a rainforest. I would like to thank Ms Robinson for all of her hard work with the

development of the term and especially with the organisation of Sustainability Week.

GAIA HOUSE

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Term 3 has again been a busy term in Gaia House for our Year 10 and 11 students as they have been

working extremely hard with preparations for their Pre-Public Exams that are due to take place next

week. We hope that they all gain the grades that their hard work deserves. With the countdown now

on especially for our Year 11 students they have now begun the process of completing applications

for our 6th Form and further education. Good luck to all our Year 11 students with their revision and

preparation for their upcoming exams.

Gaia House Assemblies

Throughout the term, House Tutor

Groups have presented their

assemblies to the rest of the House.

There have been some brilliant

performances from many of our

students in the House and this term

saw Gaia 5 NRY present their assembly

on Deforestation (right).

As mentioned, each House Tutor

Group had to present their

Endangered Animal Campaign to the

House this week. We were given the

Asian Elephant and the students were challenged to research, draw up a mission statement, and

develop their campaign to be voted in by the rest in the House.

This campaign was led solely by

the students. After each had

presented and took the time to

inform us of the vital facts about

the Asian Elephant, the votes were

counted and I’m delighted to say

that Gaia 4 BCH were chosen as

Gaia’s representative in next

week’s Sustainability Fayre.

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Student Focus - Term 2

The following Gaia House students have been chosen to share their experiences, achievements and

ambitions for the future:-

Shemelia Lewis, Year 11, Gaia 6 ICA

“My name is Shemelia Lewis and I am in Year 11. In the earlier years of my secondary education I can

admit that I wasn’t always the best and was quite simply an unfocused student. A lot of the time I

was getting it wrong with teachers, receiving numerous amounts of detentions and being sanctioned

for my lack of behaviour. Now that I have grown and matured throughout the years I decided this is

not the right path to take as an individual with the potential to succeed. Teachers and students

around me saw that I had something special inside which I could use to be successful in life and really

achieve great things. This gave me the motivation to do better and progress academically. I have a

real passion for Performing Arts, especially the musical side of it. This has carried me over a heavy

and steep mountain that I found difficult to climb. Because of this passion I am participating in The

Academy play “Little Shop of Horrors” next term and I applied for a Level 3 course in Performing Arts

at Uxbridge College where I have secured a place. If I do well in my GCSE exams I will be able to

Shemelia Lewis, Kiran Ahmad and Rochelle Bristol

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attend Uxbridge College in September. I have also already achieved the important GCSE’s required to

be accepted to do the course and those are Maths and English Language. Along my journey I am

committing myself to trying things outside of my comfort zone for example I chose to take part in the

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. It took up a lot of my own time but I was willing to put the effort in

and achieve something new to me. Looking back I have no regrets and I am happy that I have passed

and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone. Another thing that I’ve committed to is being

part of Gaia’s House Council, although I’ve held this position since Year 8 I never really contributed

much and voiced my opinion. Now I am more comfortable to do so and it has become a strong point

for me. I aim to continue achieving my goals to set me up for the future and to pursue the dream I’ve

had for as long as I can remember”.

Kiran Ahmad, Year 11, Gaia 2 JMU

“I am currently in Year 11 and have been studying at The Academy since Year 7. With the hectic

timetable for exams approaching, it is crucial to understand how individual studies are just as

important and how necessary they are. I was pleasantly surprised at how many after school sessions

and enrichment choices there are in order to support any students that may benefit from them. I

have been staying after school to get an extra push within my subjects and these have helped me

significantly. For my GCSEs I chose French, Art, Business and Geography in Year 8. In the future I hope

to continue my studies here at The Academy and in our 6th Form as there are many great courses

that I am considering. The courses I would like to study are English Literature, Maths, Psychology and

Economics as I feel like this can open many doors in the future as I thoroughly enjoy them. After 6th

Form I would like to progress and move onto study further subjects at University. Good luck to

everyone this year and if you would like any advice or guidance then just give me a shout”.

Rochelle Bristol, Year 11, Gaia 2 JMU

“My name is Rochelle Bristol and I am currently one of the Year 11’s in Gaia House. I’m in the midst of

taking my GCSE’s and have gained a high C in both English and Maths. I am currently on track to get

high B’s. I have secured GCSE’s in all 3 Core Sciences and am currently studying Additional Science

allowing me to take 2 exams for each Science and expanding my knowledge of the overall subject.

Securing a B grade in English, Maths and Science is important to me as gaining a B will allow me to

attend our 6th Form and further my education. I hope to soon become the second person in my

family to attend university after my brother and the first to study A-levels. University used to be a

distant dream for me when I was in Year 7, my future was unclear I had no ideas or dreams on my

future and just went where life took me. However, now with the career path I wish to take, university

is a must. I hope to study Marine Biology at university with 1 year of study abroad. I’ve always had an

interest in the sea and the life in it, although I was unaware of the career paths available that

involved marine life. Once I discovered Marine Biology, I began researching more about the

departments within the job and I am now interested in Ecology to be more specific, Shark Ecology.

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Being a part of Gaia House has helped me mature a lot throughout the years and helped me

understand the importance of prioritising. Having been in Gaia House for many years many

opportunities have been presented to me. Some of these include being House Captain, Sports

Captain and even presenting an assembly on the effects society and parental pressure can have on

children throughout their GCSE years. I have also other opportunities presented to me that were not

limited to just Gaia House, some of which are participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award and the

Mosaic Project. The Duke of Edinburgh award is a great achievement to get involved with and is very

worthwhile. Honestly there were highs and lows but looking back the whole experience was very

enjoyable. Being able to give back to the community while achieving a prestigious award was very

pleasing and hope that all that attend the school and participate in the award enjoy it as much as I

did. The mosaic project consists of a small group of people being chosen to be mentored by the staff

of the Hilton Hotel (Terminal 5). This project has opened my eyes to the real life of work and has

furthered my knowledge of the world of work. During the Mosaic Project we worked on our greeting

skills for interviews how to write a CV and organisation skills of which I largely lack. The Mosaic

Project has helped many others as well as myself and will continue to do so in the coming years.

With improvements being made to our careers advice area I hope that all who are struggling or are

unsure will be sure to ask Miss Ruth Turner for advice and find something they wouldn’t mind doing

for the rest of their lives”.

Karamveer Sohal Year 9 has been in Burrowbridge in Somerset all weekend to help with the flood

relief effort. He went down with his dad on Saturday morning at 5.00am and spent most of the

weekend helping locals evacuate their homes or move furniture around and make sand bags to build

shaft damns. Well done Karamveer!

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At the half way point in the academic year I am pleased to say that everyone connected with Gaia

House has made a valuable contribution to what we are trying to achieve. Overall, Term 2 has again

been a busy but successful term for Gaia House students. We have already celebrated a great deal of

success within the House and success isn’t just handed to you without having to work extremely hard

to achieve it. Gaia House and the students linked to it raise its profile every day and our reputation is

continually growing around The Academy.

Enjoy the half term break and I look forward to seeing everyone in term 4.

Mr Spilsbury

Globe House has had a keen focus on attendance and punctuality this term. Globe 2 (JEV) has won

the prize for having the most weeks of 100% attendance last term. Students will enjoy the added

benefit of choosing how they would spend their financial reward. Similarly, Globe 6 (JCS) has won the

school prize for attendance. They too will enjoy their prize money in the weeks ahead.

Special mention of Sabeeka Qureshi must be made. She is the leader of the Globe House Council and

sits in the Academy Council as well. She has made tremendous strides in providing a voice for the

concerns of Globe House students and has been pivotal in convening council meetings. Thank you

Sabeeka for your hard work this year.

Our Year 11 students are about to embark on their pre public exams next week. I would like to wish

them every success and offer any support they may need during this time.

Ms Pereira

This term has really rushed by and has seen both extreme highs and extreme lows for the Academy

Community.

The Grace House Eco-Council representatives, Leah Lewis, Ravi Sharda and Jordan Felstead have

been working hard with the rest of the Eco-Council in preparing to deliver an assembly during

“Sustainability Week”, which is during the last week of Term 3. They will be launching ideas for our

Eco-Code of Conduct and the requirements for the Eco-Schools Green Flag award.

GRACE HOUSE

GLOBE HOUSE

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Year 11 Parents Evening was well attended and many important discussions were had about future

plans and targets for the forthcoming GCSE examinations. Year 11 students have also been

completing 6th Form Application forms. Many have already achieved their English and/or their Maths

GCSE qualifications, therefore reducing the work-load and stress for them in the summer.

Year 8 Option Forms are due in by Wednesday 12 February, although Year 8 students can hand these

forms in as soon as they have made their important decisions. I will then discuss their choices before

submitting them for processing. Year 8 Academic Review Afternoon also falls on Wednesday 12

February, for any last minute queries. We hope to see as many parents on that afternoon as possible.

Ms Decosemo

Henley 4 has displayed some really strong values in recent months. They had the most weeks of

100% attendance in the House in the lead up to Christmas, for which they received prize money and

the responsibility to decide how it was spent. As a group they made the generous decision to donate

a substantial proportion to the House charity, Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice. At a time when

incomes are pressured and the mood is one of belt-tightening, it is credit to these students they have

chosen to help those in need. Akhila Joseph from Year 9 took a lead role in writing a letter to

accompany the cheque that has been sent.

HENLEY HOUSE

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Yet more pride is felt at the involvement of the Henley House

Captain, Kelsey Edwards (right), in the Academy’s Bullying

Intervention Group, who have now been recognised with The

Diana Award for the South East region.

Kelsey is a fully qualified anti-bullying ambassador and, as well

as helping students deal with issues around bullying, she has

also inspired other students from Henley and across the

Academy to take up the mantle and become our next anti-

bullying ambassadors.

Mr Goodchild

Congratulations to Year 11 students on their success in the January AQA and IGCSE exams. Many

exceeded their personal target grades, improving on their Summer results, and nearly 80% of IGCSE

students achieved Grades A* - C.

The students in Year 9 who are currently reading “Frankenstein” by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

enjoyed a visit to the Hunterian Museum in the Royal College of Surgeons, where they viewed a

fascinating, if macabre, collection of pickled specimens and learned about early operating

procedures. They then went on to the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garrett in

Southwark. The Theatre was rediscovered in the 1950s in the roof space of St Thomas’s Church,

where it formed part of the old St Thomas’s Hospital, before it relocated to Lambeth in the late 19th

century. Students trod in the footsteps of early 19th century apprentice apothecaries, who were

required to observe operations in public hospitals, as medicine entered the modern age and became

increasingly research-based. It is the advance of this “modern” medicine that forms the backdrop to

the creation of Frankenstein’s monster.

The 6th Form Mock exams produced mixed results. Year 12 and 13 students are being encouraged to

attend additional sessions on the Unseen poetry and prose sections of the exams during Enrichment

every Wednesday. The deadline for both Unit 2 and Unit 4 coursework is Tuesday 25 February.

Please support students to complete these vital essays (worth 40% of their final AS and A2 grades)

over the half-term break.

English

Deborah Moggach signs a copy of her book for Chloe Jacobs

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Congratulations to the nineteen Year 11 students who passed the Maths GCSEs they sat in

November. Their hard work, attendance to after school and Saturday sessions, and overall

commitment has paid off! The Saturday sessions have now begun for those Year 11s who have not

yet achieved a C in Maths. Permission slips have been sent home for the following dates: 1, 8, and 15

February, and 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 March. Please encourage your child’s attendance to these revision

sessions.

Three Year 9 students have started their Saturday Master Classes at Kendrick in Reading. They are

studying the maths behind topics such as crop circles, social networking, and bridges with other G&T

students throughout the area.

For all parents/careers and students please be aware that there have been some changes to the

Maths after school support time table. The updated version is below:

Maths

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UK Maths Challenges are starting this term with the intermediate challenge. Give this problem from a past

Junior UK Maths Challenge a try:

History

History students this term have been studying a variety of different topics. Year 7 have rounded their

studies of Ancient Civilisations off with a study of Ancient Greece, in particular the city-states of

Athens and Sparta. 7N also took part in an object handling workshop with Ms Barton looking at

Ancient Greek pottery. Their studies will continue next term with a study of Roman Britain.

At KS4 students in Year 11 are reminded of the importance of the next few months. All Controlled

Assessments must be completed in good time and mock exams revised for. We wish them all the very

best in this vital few months of their education which will provide them with a good platform for

further education. We urge Year 9 and Year 10 to strive for excellence in their study of History in

order to attain the very highest grade possible.

Finally, we have some very exciting news for students in Year 12. Two students, Maste Said and

Calvin Worthington, will be attending the Lessons from Auschwitz project run by the Holocaust

Education Trust. They have already attended the first session and have attended the unique one day

trip to Poland to the largest extermination centre in the Third Reich, Auschwitz-Birkenau. This

wonderful opportunity is only extended to two students per school annually. We very much hope

that in the next newsletter they may be willing to share some recollections of their experience and

help in the coming months raise awareness in the importance of remembering the Holocaust.

Humanities

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RPS

Year 7 have been studying Creation this term and have been looking at the different approaches

taken by science and religion when looking at the question ‘how did the universe come into being?’

All students have worked very well on this and have come up with some interesting and insightful

views during lessons

In Year 8 students have had a break from the R.E programme and have been thinking about their

future career choices as part of their preparation for KS4 options. Students have worked through the

careers booklet and have all completed an online questionnaire helping them think about what job

they might like to do in the future

Year 9 students have been looking at the nature of personal identity and self- esteem. We have

explored these themes generally and have also examined how religion helps form an important role

in giving the religious believer an important aspect of their self- identity

Year 10 students have been grappling with the age old problem of God and evil. The main question

that we have been examining is why does a good God permit evil to exist and why do innocents

suffer? The students have explored Christian and Muslim responses to this question and have also

looked into Hindu perspectives. Most students have made some very valuable and insightful

contributions during class discussions.

Year 11 are continuing with their GCSE studies and are currently following the same material as Year

9 on religious identity. Students should be preparing for the forthcoming mock exam and should get

into the habit of revising regularly.

As ever the ground floor of South Wing has been busy with a steady flow of students going the extra

mile: Year 7s keen to finish and pick up their finished projects, Year 8s dropping in, curious to find out

exactly what would be involved in their option choices in DT, Year 9s and 10s exploring the KS4

course and producing super work. Year 11s discovering that it really is crunch time, putting in some

extra minutes and effort, and producing some outstanding work. Even students from outside of DT

have been coming in, keen to learn and make use of the technologies available to us at TLA. It is

wonderful to see and share your enthusiasm.

Enrichment Club

Students have been busy building their robots ready for robot

games from the start of next term. A challenging team task,

the groups are doing really well, the build is nearing

completion, but enrichment time really seems to fly. Just as

they really get into the swing of making … a groan is heard as

they have to start to pack up until the next week.

Design Technology

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We are waiting for someone to invent

Smellovision– The aromas wafting from the

Food Tech rooms are enough to make the

mouth water. Good work Year 9.

This QR code takes you to the presentation shared with year 8s

to explain the options available in DT. We can’t wait to share

this year’s GCSE outcomes with you. There are some projects

that are on track to be very impressive indeed.

In keeping with the SUSTAINABILITY focus, Year 7 product

designers made junk bugs and competed against each

other in a number of mini-challenges.

It was a bit chaotic mid competition as the bugs jiggled (or

not) to their escape.

It has been very pleasing to see year 8 teams working

together to solve the ramp rage challenge, a competition

to slow the progress of a marble down a ramp using only

materials from the ‘scrap trays’ Pictured are the winning

teams from each half of the year group.

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Congratulations to Aleksandra Wieteska, winner of the January What Izzit

competition. Aleksandra correctly identified the January DT item as a 3D

printer. Congratulations also to Humza Butt of Year 8 whose guess of 55

items was closest to the number of 3D printed items in the orbs.

Look out for new competitions going up soon - Get involved in DT!

Meet the TLA Digital Ambassadors

Digital Ambassadors are chosen by their class teacher to represent the students’ views about ICT.

This can be on anything from e-safety, issues with hardware or software, staff and student training,

and helping to plan the future ICT needs of the Academy. It is a way of including the student voice in

the running of ICT in The Langley Academy.

ICT

Jessica Swann Gonzalez, Sasha Scatterfood, Byader Hamed, Mr Blackford, Aman Basra, Jessica Soomal and Aaman Malik

22

Getting Lost in Art

On Wednesday 15 January, 60 Year 10 GCSE Art students went to the

Tate Britain, London. This was one of the first GCSE Art trips run by the

Staff at the Academy. Looking at the recently curated collections students

explored works of art created by the masters of different genres.

They spent their time gathering research for their Cubist and

Expressionism projects. Students were given the opportunity to explore

the works of art in small groups, taking photographs and making notes.

Students were able to look at Tate’s collections by Henry Moore, William

Blake, Turner and Duveens.

The trip was hugely successful and members of the public commented on

how well our students behaved around the gallery.

A Level Drama & Theatre Studies

Last week the A2 Drama and Theatre Studies students performed a piece of devised theatre created

especially for Year 9. The work used the stimulus of a smart phone to explore issues surrounding the

impact of digital technology on our lives. The two performances were excellent and clearly

demonstrated the huge amount of work put in by our 6th Formers. Well done to all involved!

CAPA

23

AS Art Exhibition

Huge congratulations to our Y12 AS Art students whose

work was displayed in last week’s More Issues Than Vogue

exhibition of self-portraiture. The work was thought-

provoking and inspiring. Thank you to all who attended.

TLA Musical

The Langley Academy proudly presents:

“Little Shop of Horrors”

Monday 24th, Tuesday 25th &

Wednesday 26th February

Ticket Price: £3.00

Start time: 19:00

Visit www.parentpay.com to purchase tickets

for your chosen day.

Collect tickets from Ms Robinson on Fridays at

break time or collect at the door on the night.

Mujtaba Mohammad with his artwork

24

The start of this term has been slow in regards to netball fixtures, however the Year 10’s played a

home game against Slough and Eton. The girls played well but it was a very physical match which the

girls handled fantastically by continuing to play their own game. The ball moved swiftly down the

court from the centre pass where Erin Simmonds and Kerrie Long were waiting for the ball to score.

Katie Long and Praise Okoro played fantastically in defence collecting every loose ball and defending

the goal successfully, only allowing Slough and Eton to score one goal throughout the whole match.

Ellie Long, Karina Kakar and Leah Lewis controlled the centre of the court fantastically allowing our

shooters to remain up front and score 10 goals. This 10-1 win from our girls was well deserved and

has continued their successful move through the season.

We have some more upcoming matches throughout February for the Year 7 and 10 netball teams

and a tournament for the Year 8 team at the end of the month.

We had an exciting trip organised for some of the Netball girls to watch England v Jamaica in the

International Tri-Series, which was to be held at The Copper Box Arena, London. However

unfortunately much to our disappointment this event was cancelled due to damage to the flooring at

the venue. Fortunately we have another trip arranged for some of the girls to watch Surrey Storm v

Team Bath at the Surrey Sports Park in February.

The Hunterian Museum and the Old Operating Theatre

Students from Year 9 English visited the Hunterian Museum

and Old Operating Theatre.

The trip was to inspire the students and give them historical

context to their current novel, Frankenstein.

The students had a tour of the Hunterian Museum and

enjoyed looking around their unusual collection. The Old

Operating Theatre is the oldest operating theatre in Europe

and the students learnt more about nineteenth century

surgery methods.

PE

Museum Learning

25

“We got to see a Roman horse tooth”

Some Year 7 classes got the opportunity to handle Greek and Roman artefacts during their History

lessons. The objects, on loan from Reading Museum, included Greek pottery, Roman bathing tools

and a stylus. The students have just finished their work about the Greeks and are now beginning to

study the Romans.

X3N9W+JGUPREENNLYY+U (Welcome to Bletchley Park)

Year 12 and 13 Further Maths students visited Bletchley

Park, the home of World War II code breaking. The

group learnt more about different types of codes used

during the war and had a go at cracking some of them.

They were shown around the site and got to see some of

the code breaking machinery in operation.

The experience was particularly valuable for Divanshu

Magon (Year 12) who will be creating an exhibition and

activities about cyphers and code breaking after half

term.

Secrets from history

The Year 13 History students visited Kings’ College Archive for a special session looking at material

from the Cold War. Much of this was classified in the 1950s, meaning that the students were able to

see documents that were confidential at the time.

All in the mind

Caroline Smith from Bethlem Hospital Museum and archive visited AS Psychology students for a

session about mental health. Using original case material, photographs, doctors’ reports and patient

art work, Caroline and the students shared their ideas about what is mental well-being.

One student said, “It taught me so much about mental health and mental illnesses, which we learned

to make a distinction between.”

We hope next year to take the students to the museum itself, which is part of the South London and

Maudsley Hospital.

A German Enigma code machine

26

Lessons From Auschwitz

Maste Said and Calvin Worthington travelled to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp this week

as part of the Holocaust Education trust’s project, lessons from Auschwitz. Over 1 100 000 men,

women and children lost their lives at this camp during the Second World War. Maste and Calvin, in

Year 12, will be running a project in school to share the lessons they learn while in Poland.

Museum Club

First World War Project

Museum Club continue to work on their First World War

project, working along-side Year 10 History students to curate

the Paul Nash exhibition. The group are currently looking for

objects for the exhibition and beginning to write their labels.

They are hoping to gain an Arts Award through the project and

put the work towards the Extended Project.

Just before the end of last term the students visited the

Imperial War Museum for a war artist workshop. The group

learnt more about war art, looking in detail at a number of

paintings. They also heard more about the techniques that Paul

Nash used in his paintings.

River & Rowing Museum

The Museum Club have also created activities to be used in the family activity trolley at the River &

Rowing Museum. The students created a number of activities including a wordsearch, trail and

colouring sheets. The activities are proving popular with the visitors to the Museum and will

hopefully raise more awareness of our Museum Learning Focus.

Students from the Museum Club outside the

Imperial War Museum

27

Coming soon…

Next term look out for… Year 9 maths visits to Oxford… Year 10 textiles trip to the Ashmolean and

Botanical Gardens… lots of in-school Museum Learning activities for Science Week…Happy Birthday

Mr Shakespeare, Getting ready to celebrate 450 years since Shakespeare was born.

A very special event took place on the evening of Tuesday 4th February, with

forty-one year 11 students being recognised for their amazing efforts and

completion of their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. The students involved

needed to complete four sections to a high standard, which comprised of:

Volunteering: undertaking service to individuals or the community

Physical: improving in an area of sport, dance or fitness activities

Skills: developing practical and social skills and personal interests

Expedition: planning, training for and completion of an adventurous journey in the UK

In addition to this, the students involved experienced levels heightened self-confidence, increased

levels of independence of thought and action, developed an increased sense of responsibility,

cultivated new talents and abilities, cemented new relationships and developed their ability to lead

and work as part of a team. What made the evening even more special, was the fact that 100% of the

students who started the award, completed it, in comparison to a national average of below 50%.

Huge congratulations to all students involved and let’s hope that the current group of sixty-one

students will achieve the same level of success.

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Celebration Evening

28

Sports Council

Since the New Year, the Sports Council have been working hard to try and improve PE at the

Academy in any aspect they can. The Sports Council this term have held a meeting discussing the

concept of sport within the 6th Form. This meeting was attended by the usual sports councillors and

once again the three new members, Krishan Sharda, Akash Kumar and Brandon Calder who have

each put forward some great ideas.

With the main topic of the term revolving around sport in the 6th Form, myself and Bradley alongside

the sports councillors have created a questionnaire which we hope will give us a better

understanding about how the 6th Formers feel about taking part in sport. We are looking to collect

this information as soon as possible and look forward to finding out the results.

We are looking to start up the Rio 2016 club at the start of the next term as it was a success last year

and we are considering and planning what sports and activities we can do.

By Matthew Ensby and Bradley Powell

Eco Council

This term we have been focusing on our upcoming assembly that will be presented to all the Houses

at the end of this term. The Eco Council has not had the opportunity for a long time to give an

assembly to the Houses so we are hoping that it goes smoothly and that the students will interact

and learn something from it. We have also been working alongside Gaia’s Head of House, Mr

Spilsbury, to help organise some of the events that will be taking place during “Sustainability Week”.

We guarantee all students will enjoy and hopefully learn or experience something new in that week.

As always we have also been looking at ways of reaching the Green Flag Award. This is what the Eco

Council’s main topic will be on every week until we achieve this award because it is one of the highest

achievements our academy can achieve to show how eco-friendly it is and that is basically what our

purpose is; to make the Academy as eco-friendly as possible. Also, a quick reminder for everyone

that if you have any enquires or suggestions please do not hesitate to ask someone wearing a green

Eco Council badge. Lastly, please do not forget to turn off all the lights when leaving an empty

classroom.

By Leah Lewis

Museum Council

The Museum Council are working towards a special exhibition to celebrate Shakespeare’s 450th

birthday which will open in April. The cases in the Atrium will each represent a different Shakespeare

play and we are looking for groups to curate a case. If you would like to be involved please email

museum@langleyacademy.org.

Student Voice

29

Members of the Museum Council were involved in the interview process to recruit the Head of

Museum Learning maternity cover. The students did a great job on the student panel, asking

questions that they had created and getting the candidates to think about how they would use

objects with groups of students ‘We had a say on who and why we liked each candidate and our

input was acknowledged’ (Jordan, Year 10). Katherine Rose will be starting as Head of Museum

Learning in the middle of February.

Ms Blay will be going on maternity leave later this month and we wish her lots of luck with her new

baby and look forward to seeing her back in 2015.

Charities Council

Academy Recycles Christmas Cards

Well done to everyone who brought in their Christmas

Cards and put them in the box in the Atrium to be

recycled.

We were able to collect a stones worth of cards which

were taken to Sainsburys to be sent off to the

Woodland Trust to be recycled.

To put this into sustainability speak: If we all recycled just one card this Christmas this would save

1,570 tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases – the same as taking 500 cars off the road for a

year.

If the average card weighs 20g, we recycled 11kg of cards = 550 cards.

This = 8,635,000 tons of CO2 greenhouse gasses = 275,000 cars

That’s excellent!!! So next year remember, don’t throw your cards away, recycle them at the

Academy.

Charity Christmas Boxes still a huge success

I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who brought in items for their House Tutor Groups

Christmas Box.

Each House Tutor Group was asked to decorate and

fill a box with non-perishable food items which would

be donated to Slough Food Bank.

The boxes were displayed under the Academy’s

Christmas tree where they were judged by the

Principal. The boxes were amazing and competition

was the highest yet and after careful consideration

this year’s winners were: Darwin 3 and Year 13 T4 for

6th Form.

30

Members of the Charities Council delivered the boxes during the last week of term. They were

gratefully received by the Slough Foodbank who were amazed by the amount of work that students

had put into decorating the boxes.

The Langley Academy recently received the following letter of thanks:

Dear Beth Brock & Friends,

Thank you for your donation to Slough Foodbank. The scholars, teachers, parents and friends

collected 209.2kgs of foods; enough to provide about 60 family meals. Please tell everybody about

their gifts and pass on our very real thanks to all those who gave so generously.

As you may know Slough Foodbank has been operating for nearly 3 years now and during that time

we have been able to help over 5,000 people. In the year 2012-2013 we helped 700 more people than

in the previous year. In April and May this year we have seen a further sharp rise as we recorded a

20% increase, over the figures for April and May last year, in the number of people coming to us for

help; no doubt because of changes to the government benefits system.

We are seeking new organisations and individuals to join us so that they, and you, who are already

making donations, will rise to the challenge. We are anxious to be able to respond to the increasing

requests.

Your generosity and support for this venture is greatly

appreciated.

Kind regards Deryck Doling, Slough Foodbank

Administration, 21 December 2013

31

Thieves who raided a workshop in Windsor more than 100 years ago underwent a 'retrial' on

Wednesday. As part of the Royal Borough's ‘Court in the Act’ education programme for

schoolchildren, students re-tried the scoundrels at the Guildhall in Windsor - the venue of the original

trial. The 30 students from the Year 9 Debate Club divided into two groups each - prosecuting and

defending.

Deputy Mayor of Windsor and Maidenhead Cllr John Lenton and Deputy Mayoress Cllr Margaret

Lenton officiated. At the end the students voted to acquit two of the three thieves and convict the

third. But the original culprits did not come off so well back in 1895.

Royal Borough education officer Alice Le Page said: "They were only between nine and 11 and were

charged with stealing from a workshop under the railway arches. "They were all found guilty and

sentenced to be birched." Details of the original case came from the Berkshire Records Office.

After the visit, the Mayor wrote to Mr Bryant saying how impressed he was with the students and

how well they debated the case.

Court in the Act

Photo courtesy of Baylis Media

32

The trip to the Windsor Court was a once in a lifetime opportunity. During the trip we enhanced our

problem solving and public speaking ingenuity. Our task was to re-enact a court which involved a

group of boys who were involved in a robbery. Each group had the task to defend or prove a boy

guilty. In my group’s instance we had to defend a boy who was being charged of theft and damaging

property. This was a very challenging task because in every piece of evidence we obtained, the boy

openly admitted to committing the crimes. When it came to fighting our case in the court, we were

prematurely left with no defending statements and as a result lost the court case. I would definitely

recommend this to anyone who has received an opportunity to attend one of these sessions.

Keaton Sangha, Year 9

Member of the Debate Club: Adam Toubal, Nad Abbas, Jamal Chaudry, Molly Frewin and Rochelle Markman-Scadding Photo courtesy of Baylis Media

33

Rowing - Thames Valley Trials Head

The first outdoor rowing event of the season took place on Sunday 2 February at Dorney Lake.

Because of the floods on the rivers, entries reached their maximum before the closing date, and

before most of our students had returned their consent forms, so only one of the 8 crews we wanted

to enter were able to get their entries in.

Roy Carlton was sculling a year

above his age group in a double

scull with Benjamin Harris, starting

the time trial event at number 332

of a total 521 entries, ranging in age

from older masters down to J13s

(Year 8s).

Roy and Ben overtook the crew that started ahead of them, a J13 coxed quad, a boat that should be

faster, and left behind the Llandaff

J14 double racing in the same event

as them. They were overtaken

themselves by the event winners, a

very fast RGS High Wycombe

double, finishing in 4th place in their

event.

The year 9 and 8 girls will be racing

at the National Junior Sculling Head

on 14 March. Further events take place in May and June.

Rowing

34

Theatre Trip to War Horse and

Puppeteer Workshop

The Sensory Resource Base took

four Hearing Impaired students

from key stage 3 to London for a

puppeteer workshop which was

held at the Royal Opera House in

Covent Garden, before going to

see the amazing show War Horse

at the New London Theatre.

This was an amazing opportunity

for our hearing impaired students

to access inspirational deaf adult

role models who led the

puppeteer workshops.

The students had a chance to

access a ‘hands on’ puppeteer

workshop along with

interacting with other young

people who had a range of

hearing impairments. This was

an opportunity for our students

to interact with peers who also

wore hearing aids, had

cochlear implants and also

some who used sign language

to communicate.

Later in the afternoon students

had an opportunity to see the

amazing show War Horse and

check out the professional

puppeteers in action. It was a

super day, thoroughly enjoyed

by all.

SRB

SRB Students Tyrell Miller, Zaheer Abbas, Raqib Khan and Gracjan Borkowski

35

PE and Humanities have been, as usual, brilliantly supportive in collaborating with the library by using

it’s space and resources to promote and encourage reading, research techniques and literacy. The

‘Reading Stars’ programme has been launched by PE which has included students using the library’s

sport related hard copy resources, History has held library based lessons on Egyptians, including

museum learning artefact handling, furthermore, Geography held a ‘Nations of the World’ research

workshop using just library resources. Media students have also dropped in to use resources while

creating pod casts on global warming and biology students have also had a lesson using the resources

for their endangered species project.

So far this academic year, students have made 1835 visits to the library during their free time,

furthermore, they have used 1203 books and magazines for research or reading for pleasure. Arbib

students have visited the most, and Darwin has used the most resources. Well done!!

Library

Mr Chinchen, Mr Trafford and Year 7 students

36

The library hosted it’s ‘Dared to be Scared’ challenge by encouraging

students to read a genre

they might not have

considered before. R. L.

Stine’s ‘Goosebumps’ series

and Ally Kennen ‘Bedlam’

series were the most

popular.

On Wednesday 29 January 2013 the Organic Garden students went on a trip to RHS Gardens in

Wisley. After the 40 minute trip there by Mr Wright, who kindly agreed to take us, we transferred

from a dreary old January afternoon to a tropical climate with the Butterflies. There were over 20

types of butterflies all with their own unique pattern. Priya Tumber, Muntaha Ahmed, James

Blackman, Ella Norfolk, Jack Hazell, Liam Bates and Maria Paswal were astounded by the different

variations.

Joe Critcher Year 8 said, “I was helping this butterfly out because he could fly but not for long so I

decided to take him round with me but then he got a bit more friendly and got on my uniform. This

was a new experience for me as I have never seen a butterfly up close and marveled at it’s amazing

patterns and colours. All plants were very well looked after including the Banana Plants and Lemon

Plants. I would recommend it to anyone with a passion for gardening”.

Organic Garden

Joe Critcher with the butterfly on his Blazer

37

Liam Bates and Joe Critcher observed how butterflies eat and what sort of food they eat. The

butterflies seemed to love it; there were about 17 'buffet tables' dotted around the place.

Website is here for those interested: http://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley

The season begins early in the polytunnel. Newcomer James Blackman And stalwart gardener Joe

Critcher get to grips with seeds.

Ella Norfolk, Muntaha Ahmed and Melissa Daw at the butterfly buffet table

38

On 27 November 2013 parents, staff and people in the community met to launch and discuss Friends of the

Academy. From that meeting a mission statement was created:

‘To work with The Langley Academy and the wider community to enhance the quality of local life’

Since then the Academy have been discussing the way forward. Mr Haden and Ms Lewis have met with

Meredith Bevan (General Manager) and Caroline Lowe (Human Resources) from Hilton Hotel Terminal 5;

Leaders of the SBCP, Slough Business and Community Partnership and have appointments with the Mayor of

Slough on 11 February and local MP Fiona Mactaggart on 28 February to discuss what it is that we need to do

to make Langley a better place to live for all.

The Academy Council have also met to discuss Friends of the Academy and are now cascading their thoughts

to House Councils. It is hoped that in March, parents, staff and people in the community will meet again and

begin the process of facilitating a project.

If you have any ideas as to how the community in Langley can enhance the quality of local life or you would

like to be involved with Friends of the Academy please email tina.lewis@langleyacademy.org

Our expectation is that students arrive to each lesson prepared for learning. Please use the half term

holiday to ensure your son/daughter has the minimum required stationery as detailed below.

HB Pencil x 2

Pens – Black x 2, Red x 1

Eraser

Sharpener

Coloured Pencils x 12

30cm Ruler

Protractor 180°

Compass

Highlighter

Notebook

Scissors

Glue Stick

Stationery packs can be purchased through our ParentPay Shop here

Friends of the Academy

Stationery Packs

39

Sainsbury's annual Active Kids voucher campaign is underway,

offering schools and groups the chance to secure sports and other

equipment and experiences for children and young people.

I would like to encourage you to collect vouchers by shopping at your

local Sainsbury’s store, at Sainsbury’s petrol stations and Sainsbury

on-line shop. You can also swap your Nectar points for Active Kids

Vouchers.

Please encourage your students to ask their parents and relatives to

collect the vouchers when

shopping at Sainsbury’s;

Vouchers are available between now and 20 May 2014 so

you can start collecting straight away.

There is a Voucher Collection Box on the SSM desk in the

atrium.

Sainsbury’s Active Kids