Welcome back to the summer term. The field is open already and the community is already benefiting from the extra space and wellbeing opportunities it provides. 

This term is exam term for year 11 - speaking exams began on 17th April and the first formal written exam in Biology on 16th May - it is amazing how quickly these exams come around They have been working extremely hard to prepare for these exams, with strong attendance to Easter revision sessions and a real dedication to lunchtime and after school interventions. We are very proud of them and wish all our Year 11s the best of luck.

 

Attendance 

Attendance at KAR  has been struggling all year. Currently we are below the national average and the county average for schools in our local area. Attendance for Ringmer is 90.2% which means that on average students at Ringmer are taking one day off a fortnight; if this was in employment this would not be acceptable.  More importantly, this absence is having an impact on our students’ life chances. Our own statistics show that students whose attendance is less than 93% reduce their chances of getting 5 good GCSEs to 22%.

The Department for Education says:

Parents have a legal duty to ensure their child attends school regularly. This means their child must attend every day that the school is open, except in a small number of allowable circumstances such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an absence in advance from the school.

There are many students to which the message will not apply and I thank you all for your commitment to attendance, but currently 35% of our students have less than 93% attendance.

Finally, Mr Schulz, our Attendance Officer will contact you if he has concerns about your child’s attendance and I must remind you that any rudeness or discourtesy will not be tolerated. He has a job to do and we have a responsibility, alongside you, to ensure your child is in school and their life chances are fully realised. 

 

Senior Student Leadership Interviews

We held our 2023/24 Year 10 Senior Student Leadership Interviews before the Easter closure.  The interview process was very rigorous and all students who were shortlisted were of the highest standard we have interviewed to date.   On Tuesday 18 April, myself and Ms Dormer, KS4 Lead, had the pleasure of telling the following successful students the results.  

2023/2024 Senior Student Leadership Team

Position	Student
Principal Senior Student	Esther Ellwood (Turing) Jack Holder (Hawking)
Vice Senior Student - Opportunity	Alfie Leach (Seacole)
Vice Senior Student - Student voice	Emilia Ruff (Hawking)
Vice Senior Student - Academic	Abigail Fleet (Hawking)
Vice Senior Student - Community	Devon-Danielle Booker (Franklin)
House Leader	Archie Denness (Seacole) James Simms (Turing) Izzy Goulding (Franklin) Harlyn Wright (Hawking)
Sports Leader	Mary Sunguro (Turning)
Lead Student Ambassador	Tionne Andrew (Franklin) Grace Foster (Franklin)
Marketing Leader	Isabelle Freezer (Seacole)
Transition Lead	Archie Gibbons (Hawking) Grace Cottingham (Hawking)
Reading Leader	Emma Bartlett (Hawking)
Eco Lead Student	Fionn Kersey- Green (Turning) Nico Freezer (Seacole)
Personal Assistant to Senior Students	Robert Rattray (Seacole)

 

Ringmer Village Art & Design Competition 2023

Please see attached the flyer at the bottom of this newsletter for the Ringmer Village Art & Design Competition 2023. We look forward to seeing your entries!

 

KAR Chess tournament 

The second chess tournament is underway with exciting games being played by KS4. Tomorrow will see our semi-final matches played.

Our first tournament saw a year 11 snag the winning position and be awarded our first chess tournament trophy. Good luck to all who are playing.
 

 

Music Department - Arts Award Discover

In November several of our Year 9 and 10 students completed their Arts Award Discover certificates which were awarded on Thursday in assembly. This was linked to our Glyndebourne trip to see La Boheme in which they reflected on their experience and researched more about opera and the roles involved in staging an opera.

Congratulations to all the students who went above and beyond expectations to achieve their awards and completed this alongside their usual studies.

Thank you, Ms Urquhart, Subject Leader for Music (in school Tuesday - Friday)

 

ECO News

Mrs Teague (with the help of Mr Duckworth) have repositioned the bird feeder and the wildlife camera, to the Eco Hub garden under the oak tree.

On Wednesday morning, the camera caught a local crow enjoying its breakfast just at the sun was rising, and we've managed to line the bird feeder up perfectly with the rising sun.  We also caught a local squirrel helping themselves to breakfast too!

Mrs Teague also spotted a bumblebee and ladybird in the Eco Hub garden, as it is starting to wake up as the spring weather improves.

Soon Mrs Teague and the Eco Reps will be doing a gardening session to create a wildflower strip along the fence line and also a stumpery, from some stumps and logs donated from a local resident.  Once a date has been agreed, Mrs Teague will let people know as any help would be greatly appreciated.

The Eco Reps took seeds home for the Easter break to get young seedlings growing ready for planting out in the school greenhouse.  We are aiming to grow tomatoes and salad crops to use in food technology, and also some flowering plants to add around the school and help pollinators.  We'll keep you posted on how we get on.
 

            

 

KING’S ACADEMY RINGMER

Examination Invigilators

Standard - £10.98 per hour

Senior - £11.18 per hour

The Academy is looking to add to our bank of dedicated Examination Invigilators, who will be employed on a casual basis to supervise students taking both practise and actual GCSE exams, as necessary throughout the school year.  Full training will be provided and staff will be contacted prior to the exam period to discuss the invigilation schedule in relation to their own availability.  We offer a full support and induction programme for all new staff and a commitment to continued professional development.  

King's Academy Ringmer is a rural comprehensive with an ethos of "In Pursuit of Excellence".  We have a strong reputation for our inclusion, pastoral care and a rapidly improving trend of results in terms of student attainment and progress. In 2019 we were above national on P8 and we are forecasting a further improvement this year.  The Academy is part of King's Group Academies whose mission is to equip all students with the confidence, knowledge, skills and values that will enable them to thrive in the modern world.  We anticipate exciting developments ahead working together with students, parents/carers and the wider community to build upon our strengths and make this an outstanding school.

What can we offer you?

• A chance to be at the forefront of educational development. 

• An Academy with a positive ethos, motivated students and focus upon learning

• Excellent induction, support and staff development opportunities

• A beautiful, rural environment situated approximately 12 miles from the coastal city of Brighton and Hove

For full details and an application form can be download directly from our website: https://www.kgaringmer.uk/news/?pid=15&nid=2&storyid=4 or contact Amanda French on either 01273 815460 or amanda.french@kingsacademies.uk quoting job reference P/431.   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 Friday 28 April 2023 at 9am with the interview date TBC

 

Safeguarding

This week we are focussing on a specific on-line danger- that of sexting. Sexting is when someone sends or receives a sexually explicit image, video or text, usually on a mobile phone. Fortunately we do not have many incidents of this but it is much better to be proactive rather than reactive. 

Below are links to a website for young people to access:

https://www.victimsupport.org.uk/you-co/types-crime/online-crime/sexting/

Here is a useful website for parents:
https://www.children1st.org.uk/help-for-families/parentline-scotland/guidance-advice/sexting/#:~:text=Listen%20to%20their%20views%20on,but%20because%20of%20the%20risks.

 

Kind regards,

Sian Williams

Principal