KAR Newsletter 27/06/2025

Dear parents and carers,

I hope you have had a great week.

As we enter the final and often the busiest part of the year, I am pleased to report that KAR continues to be in a very positive position.

Last week we held our Summer Showcase, a fantastic evening showcasing our students' abilities in dance and drama. We remain committed to the creative arts at KAR, and given our school size, the number of students who volunteer to perform each event is outstanding. A huge thank you to Ms Urquhart and Ms Dyson for their efforts in putting this together.

I was also privileged to attend the opening of Ringmer Community Pool. This now offers opportunities for our students from September, both in our Super Curriculum and our PE Curriculum. Some of our staff have already taken the opportunity to use it on Friday afternoons.

We also bid farewell to our Year 11 cohort. They have shown fantastic maturity and focus throughout the exam period, and the atmosphere in their last assembly was fantastic. As always, lots of shirt signing and the opportunity to have a treat from the ice-cream van! We held the Year 11 Prom yesterday evening, a fantastic and happy evening. Students arrived in tractors, sports cars, motorbikes, buses, and there was even a chinook helicopter flyover! A big thank you to all involved in the evening. The students had a fantastic evening and the atmosphere was one of celebration and togetherness. They certainly hit the dance floor, and there were some impressive moves being shown by staff members who will remain unnamed!

On Wednesday 24th June, we held a fantastic event at KAR for Smartphone Free Child, a volunteer group which we are engaging with to promote the benefits of a smartphone free childhood until 14. The evening was rich in discussion, with many members from the local community in attendance, including KAR staff, governors and parents of our prospective Year 7’s from September. As the host venue for the evening, I opened the event, before a panel that included educational consultants, paediatricians, healthcare experts, the police and other community leaders. Our principal students, Jessica and Elliot, also spoke with confidence and clarity regarding the challenges they have experienced with smartphones. The evening aimed to provide evidence-based information and discussion for those looking to make decisions around smartphones.

We have had a number of visits recently at Trust Level and Governance level. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from these visits, specifically outlining that we are currently seen as having maintained exceptionally high standards, and are leading the way in positive conduct by our students, the quality of teaching and the collective culture at the school.

We look forward to the last few weeks - transition days and evenings, sports day, activities week and celebration assemblies! A reminder that, due to the anticipated heatwave next Monday and Tuesday, students are allowed to wear PE Kit if they would prefer.

Have a great weekend

Best wishes,

Mr Harvey

Summer Showcase

Thank you to all who participated in and helped set up the Summer Showcase. It was such a lovely event and a wonderful celebration of the hard work of our music, dance and drama students. If you would like to make a donation to support the Musical Instrument Fund, then please make a donation via Parentpay. Many thanks, Ms Urquhart, Subject Leader for Music.

MFL Department

MFL Article 1 - Bienvenue au café!

Year 8 French students have been writing and performing role plays in a café this week, combining transactional French with "small talk" and acting skills. It has been fantastic to see them grow in confidence and manage to complete this task in their second language. Bravo à tous!

MFL Article 2 - Year 11s teaching Spanish verb conjugation to Year 7 on their leaver’s day 🙂

MFL Article 3 - Year 8 Spanish students have been working on creating a café role play in Spanish, and gave their final performances this week. They all came up with distinctive scripts and used varied vocabulary and accurate accents. Well done! - Ms Cooke

English Department

Belonging - Poetry Competition

This month at KAR, we have been celebrating our sense of Belonging. I know we don't always acknowledge it, especially during those days when everything seems to go wrong - but, we're all incredibly fortunate to work and study in this brilliant school - and that, we thought, was worth remembering.

Therefore, this month, we asked students to explore this feeling of Belonging - by crafting their own poems. The competition wasn't limited to school of course, as students could explore when and where they feel this sense of Belonging. Some chose to write about their friendships made at KAR, some chose to write about their hobbies, and some, well they chose to write about taking a lovely stroll through the forest on a beautiful Spring Day.

It's always such a joy to read the work of all of our students here at KAR, and this competition, well it really did just show us what a creative, kind, adventurous, caring, ambitious (I could go on) group of students we have at this school. This competition was really difficult to judge as the standard was so high, but we've chosen the following as our Top 4. One of which will definitely leave you in tears, I'm sure.

The winning students will be awarded 5 Achievement Points each, a PROUD award, AND a book courtesy of the English Department. A huge well done to the following:

Bay Blackwell - Year 7 - Bay Poem

Evelyn Johnson - Y7 - Evelyn Poem

Martha Samms - Y8 - Martha Peom

Diva Muthoor - Y8 - Diva Peom

I am sure you will join me in congratulating these students on their incredible work.

Write On Everyone, Write On.

Mr Maund, Teacher of English

Art Department – Abstract Landscape Club

What started as a short 3-week art course has beautifully transformed into a 9-week creative journey — every Friday filled with colour, imagination, and inspiration!

It’s been absolutely amazing to watch our students dive into the world of abstract landscape, embracing the expressive freedom it offers. With guidance and wisdom from the wonderful Mrs. Colbourne, they’ve explored techniques that brought their visions to life — and the results have been nothing short of incredible.

The work produced has truly wowed us, and the energy in the room each week has been electric with creativity. It’s been a joy for both myself and Mrs. Colbourne to see everyone so engaged, enthusiastic, and genuinely happy while creating.

To everyone who joined us — thank you from the bottom of our paint-splattered hearts. You've made these Fridays something special.

Huge thank you to Harwoodking Printmakers for their generous gift of premium watercolour paper the students used during these workshops

https://www.harwoodking.com/

Until next time — keep creating, keep expressing, and keep smiling!

Check out some of the work produced below. Miss Hook, Head of Art

PE Department

Over the last couple of weeks, we have taken our students to a number of different athletics events culminating in Town Sports on Tuesday 17 June 2025, in which the school competed against 12 other local secondary schools.

Year 7 - Super Six athletics at Hailsham. The students took part in a number of events, including runs, throws and jumps, with the team finishing a very respectable 5th, although they improved massively in a week and finished 3rd in the bigger Town Sports Events.

Year 8 - In the Hailsham event, another credible result, finishing 5th overall, at Town Sports finishing 8th overall out of 12 schools

Year 9 - In the Hailsham event, the team won, which was a superb result, although not doing quite so well in the Town Sports, finishing 9th out of 12 schools

Year 10 - Unable to take part in the Hailsham event but finishing 9th out of 12 schools in the Town Sports

All the students represented the school with great enthusiasm and desire. All students' behaviour was exemplary, which was noted by some of the other staff from other schools. Also, some amazing individual performances from students across the different events.

Well Done all, Mr Coulthard

Super Curriculum News

Super Curriculum gardening group escaped the heat of the greenhouse this week to do some Anthotype printing with Turmeric.

Anthotype is a photographic image obtained using plant dyes (photosensitive pigments in plants), without the need for cameras, lenses, inks and lasers. We used the spice Turmeric to paint the paper, placing a fern over the yellow and leaving it in the sun for an hour. The finished result came from spraying a simple solution to fix the colour. The results were really impressive. Mrs Simon-House, ECO Co-ordinator.

Old School Uniform

Thank you to all the Year 11s who donated items of uniform back to the school. We would still appreciate it more, especially trousers, skirts and ties. Anything we do not need is donated to Raystede to sell on at their Rescue Centre on the Broyle.

You can donate to Raystede yourself at any time and there is also a second-hand uniform Facebook site link on our website.

Lost Property

We have a large number of unnamed lost property items in reception, including water bottles, winter coats, uniform, jewellery, watches and many keys. Many of these items have been in reception for a very long time.

Please come to reception if you recognise any items or to look through the coats.

If any items are not claimed by the end of term, they will be repurposed or given to Raystede as donations.

Thank you in advance for your assistance with this.

Holiday Activities and Food for secondary-aged students eligible for FSM

The summer holidays are approaching, which means Holiday food and fun! We will be offering up a diverse menu of activities.

The document below has a QR code to take people to the ESCC booking platform.

ESCC would particularly like to highlight some clubs suitable for secondary-aged young people in the area that still have places available. These are all available via their booking platform or the links below.

Barbering holiday club – 14 to 16 years – Eastbourne
Eastbourne Fame Academy – performing arts – 6 to 17 years
Inclusive musical theatre workshops – 7 to 13 years
Wildlife and tech camp – Seven Sisters – 11 to 16 years
Woodland drama workshop – 11 to 16 years

Tetra Pack printing – 11 to 14 years – Seaford
Weaving – 11 to 14 years – Seaford
Creative Coast 11 to 14 years – Seaford
Shrek summer school Kaleidoscope – 5 to 16 years – Lewes
Lifestyle workshops and football fitness – 7 to 13 years - Newhaven

This DfE funded programme offers a range of exciting activities for young people who receive benefits-related free school meals.

All sessions include a healthy meal and are free to eligible young people. There is a great range of clubs spread across multiple venues in East Sussex. Activities include sport, art, theatre, forest school, animation, music, computer coding and crafts.

A small number of places will also be available for children and young people who:

· Disabled or special educational needs, including those with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

· Children in Need (CiN)

· Referred to Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

· Young Carers

· Have a disabled sibling

· Children on a Child Protection Plan (CP)

· Looked After Children (LAC)

· Refugee groups

Foundry Surgery are funding a Nature Therapy Session for Young People 11-17 on the 7th and 14th July at Kingston Pavillion.

It's free to attend and is intended for the Young Person and a parent. It's aimed at children struggling with anxiety or who may have SEND and so struggle with self-regulating.

They have a lot of families who struggle to help their child/teen manage their emotions and often have a lot of difficulty getting them into school or college. We hear from parents that things can be very stressful at home for everyone involved, and they would like support.

They have been working with a local organisation called Roots Nature Therapy (www.rootnaturetherapy.com) to set up a nature-based workshop for parents and children/teens in a small group. There is a lot of evidence about nature as a resource to improve mental health, but often families find it difficult to know where to start. This workshop is to help you improve your connection with your child/teenager while helping you both reduce stress levels and feel better.

KING’S ACADEMY RINGMER

Advert 1 - Reception, Administration and Attendance Assistant

Permanent 35 hours per week

Required to start on 1 September 2025

Term-time only

Salary – KGA Pay Scale, Band 4, Points 4 to 6

Ie: £24420pa to £25652pa to be pro-rated as TTO

We are seeking a Reception, Administration and Attendance Assistant to start on 1 September 2025. Responsibilities will include managing the day-to-day running of the school reception and medical room and to administer student attendance.

What can we offer you?

Leaders who create a positive working environment where Teaching and Learning is the priority
An established, motivated and supportive department
Conscientious and hardworking students in a ‘very happy and safe school’ (OFSTED 2024)
An effective behaviour for learning policy where ‘pupils behave well’ (OFSTED 2024)
A supportive and collaborative staff body
An excellent CPD programme and opportunities for progression
Two-week October half-term
Academy-wide staff benefits and discounts (My KGA)
The opportunity to work in an Eco School
A beautiful, rural environment situated approximately 12 miles from the coastal city of Brighton and Hove

King’s Academy Ringmer:

King's Academy Ringmer is a rural comprehensive with an ethos of "Kindness, Ambition, Resilience ". Our most recent Ofsted states “the school has a culture of courtesy and respect” and “pupils are expected to work hard and commit to their learning”. Our results are significantly above national average for all students. We offer a broad, ‘exceptional’ enrichment offer through our Super Curriculum and students say “there is something for everyone”.

King’s Academy Ringmer is also an Eco School and winner of the Department for Education’s Sustainability award.

King’s Group Academies:

King’s Academy Ringmer is part of King’s Group Academies. At King’s Group Academies our vision is to provide ‘opportunity and success on a global stage’ which means we have a vision of a global community of pupils and colleagues whose connection broadens horizons and fosters understanding. Our values of ‘Honesty, Faith, and Courage’ drive our passion and ensure we collaborate within our UK communities and internationally, promoting global citizenship and cultural awareness. We believe that every pupil deserves a team of dedicated educators and staff who are deeply invested in their success, supported by positive partnerships with parents who hold us to the highest standards.

For full details and an application form can be download directly from our website: https://www.kgaringmer.uk/vacancies/support-staff-vacancies or contact Amanda French on either 01273 815460 or amanda.french@kingsacademies.uk quoting job reference P/506. We offer a first class working environment with supportive colleagues and opportunities for career development.

King’s Academy Ringmer is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All posts within our Multi Academy trust are exempt for the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore all applicants will be required to declare spent and unspent convictions, cautions and bind-overs, including those regarded as spent and complete an Enhanced Criminal Records Disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

Closing date for applications is Monday 14 July 2025 at 8.30am with the interview date will be on Tuesday 22 July 2025.

We advise applying promptly for this post as we reserve the right to close and interview early if sufficient suitable applications have been received.

Advert 2 - Learning Support Assistant x 2

Post 1 - Permanent 30 hours per week – Job number P/505

Post 2 – Permanent 24 hours per week – Job number P/504

Required to start on 1 September 2025

Term-time only

Salary – KGA Pay Scale, Band 2, Points 2 to 3

Ie: £23656pa to £24027pa to be pro-rated as TTO

Learning Support Assistant x 2 required to start on 1 September 2025 to work within the school to support students with additional needs. Mainly based in the classroom, and working with small groups of students to support their individual and collective development, both academically and in their general wellbeing. The successful candidates will support the SENCO and SEND department to help improve student outcomes and raise standards.

The SEND department comprises of 5 dedicated Learning Support Assistants. There are numerous opportunities for CPD, including training from Educational Psychologists, Occupational Therapists and many other professionals. We believe it is imperative to upskill and support our staff, therefore any training opportunities are encouraged. Admin time is allocated to timetables to complete tasks, training and plan for enrichment groups.

Work pattern

Post 1 (8.30am to 3.30pm - Monday to Friday. 6 hours a day / 30 hours per week plus an unpaid lunch break.

8.30am to 3.30pm. 6 hours a day / 24 hours per week plus an unpaid lunch break - equivalent to 4 days a week, work pattern to be agreed with the successful candidate.