CITY OF LONDON

ACADEMY

S O U T H W A R K

NEWSLETTER

Spring

2019

Dear Parents, Carers, Governors and Students

This Easter is the end of an era at CoLA. After eight years as Principal, and then Executive Principal, Richard Bannister is retiring. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his outstanding contribution to the success of the academy and community. Richard has been a dedicated and outspoken leader committed to raising the achievement of all the students in our local community. When Richard looks back on his record here at CoLA, I believe he will be very proud of his achievements. In the eight years of his leadership the academy has undergone some amazing transformations:

The average set of five good passes achieved by the students here has almost doubled.

The academy has grown in size by nearly 50%.

The number of students wanting to come here has increased so greatly we now have more than 1,000 applications above our admission number.

The first Oxbridge entrant and graduate.

The academy secured funding for a purpose built Inclusion Centre.

The academy secured funding to build a state of the art dedicated sixth form building.

The ICT provision in the academy has been significantly enhanced.

The elite basketball academy has produced regional and national champions more than once.

Achieving the International Schools Award, the Arts Mark Gold Award and the Inclusion Quality Mark at Flagship status.

Several of our students have received full scholarships to study at universities in the USA.

Six of his leadership team have gone on to become Principals of their own Academies.

To Richard, the measure of the academy’s success is not just how many students get into university, a marker used more now than in years past. He was a firm believer in the duty we have to care for the students, to be aware of their health and wellbeing. In many ways, we were ahead of the rest of the country in that regard as health and wellbeing has now become an important aspect of how an academy is judged. “You have to work very hard to get to know the needs of students,” Richard often said. “You never know when they walk through the door what they’ve been through the night before.” I know Richard will not be sitting back taking it easy in his retirement. He plans on travelling to places he’s always wanted to explore. I know he plans on catching up on his reading and has a long 'must read' list to attend to. Finally, I leave you with some thoughts that Richard recently shared with me when we were discussing his retirement: “There is only ever one of each of us: one Jane Doe or one Mr Bannister. We are all unique. We are neither better nor less than anybody else but rather the best or least of ourselves. I am still working on finding the best of me. It is an exciting on-going journey. Thank-you for being my traveling companions along a large and important part of my way. I am forever grateful for your stimulating company and the enormous collection of shared experiences indelibly printed on my mind.” Thank you Richard, for all you have done for our academy and community. Bryce Wilby

Head of School

Trips & Visits Here at CoLA our students are extremely fortunate to have such a wealth of opportunities to

engage in exciting, challenging and often unique trips and visits. We are grateful to all of the

members of staff who have dedicated time and effort to making these trips and visits happen.

Cultural &

Aspirational

Events In March thousands of change-makers packed the The

Arena, Wembley, for the WE.org event, promoting all

kinds of ethical and sustainable international

development. Renowned public figures including The

Duke and Duchess of Sussex, met inspiring speakers

and world leaders to celebrate a year of action that

Artistic Success

Seen pictured right is one of our most talented year

artists Sabria. Her modest demeanour belies the

fact that she won through in a prestigious

competition sponsored by The Worshipful Co of

Painters and Stainers, having her work exhibited at

the Painters Hall. She brushed away all

competitors and won the annual art prize for the

best piece of art or photography by a sixth form

student. Quite an achievement.

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transformed communities and

changed lives. Pictured left, is

year 10 CoLA student Abena

who won through a competition

and wowed the audience with

her inspiring speech on gender

equality.

Pictured right is our year 11

student, Nikita, who performed

fantastically at the City Schools’

Concert at Guildhall. The event

was well attended and was a

ringing endorsement for the

development of music in our

schools.

Below are several boys from

across all year groups

celebrating getting to the final of

The Sheriff’s chess competition

at The Old Bailey. Their mental

agility and concentration levels

were put fully on trial.

CoLA Rural Rambling and Rocking La Ramblas

Oracy & Debate .

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The PE Department continue to do great work

organising The Duke of Edinburgh activities. These

events really build confidence and independence by

throwing our students out of their comfort zone

Once again MFL’s

Barcelona trip was

a great success.

Senor Martos Rus

and Mademoiselle

Benalia

accompanied a

large group of

students where

they got chance to

practice their

Spanish in situ;

take in the cultural

sites and enjoy the

beautiful Spanish

sunshine and

beaches.

Miss Wescott, in English, has

been doing amazing work

developing oracy through

debate and public speaking.

Our cover picture is from her

trip to The Churchill

Competition, at Guildhall,

where Jhanelle, Joshua,

Andras and Miradi performed

well. Right are Erungal,

Garthia, Clement, Michael,

Malakai & Seun at Westminster

School and Sahit is pictured

after reaching the Regional

Final of the Jack Petchey

“Speak Out” Challenge.

Extra-Curricular Education

There is an enormous range of extracurricular activities and clubs on offer at

CoLA. Here are a few that have been taking place this term. A massive well done

to the students who have attended and of course a big thank you to the staff who

have given up their time to make these clubs happen.

English, Art & Geography

Art and The Art of Communication

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The Art Department, organised CoLAs entry into the ARTiculation competition, where Year 13 Christine Luo won

a place to the final at the Royal Academy - with her presentation on Street of the Old Town By Leonid Afremov.

Christine said “I was one hundred percent sure that I would not be the one representing my school, because I had

never had any experience with giving speeches or presentations.” However, Christine won through with an

excellent entry and said “ARTiculation is not only a competition; it’s about the contribution that art has made in this

world and young people being able to fully appreciate the meanings behind art.”

Pictured top right is a large group of students attending

the Young City Poets event, organised by the English

Department. Bottom right is Dr Sahid on the annual

Geography field trip to Norfolk. The students look at

home in their stately surroundings.

Below students prepare vibrant street art for an exciting

project to help regenerate the local environment. Much

of the students’ work will be used to brighten up “The

Blue” in Southwark Park Road, an area much known by

our students.

Other Events

At CoLA we celebrate community, charity and sporting events. This term there

has been plenty to commemorate!

Community & Charity

Sporting Success

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Sonny and Charlie are pictured

left taking part in the Milwall

Community Program, an exciting

outreach scheme giving local

youngsters a chance to develop

work and life skills.

The Learning Support team,

continue to do amazing work.

This week they helped several

students, including John, Elaf

and Lucas, run an Easter Fayre,

raising money for The National

Autistic Society. The students

spend their free time cultivating

plants and vegetables and

producing craft and artwork to

sell for this great cause.

Charles, Andras, Gracie, Zi and

Ashna, did amazing work

helping with Red Nose Day

where a significant amount of

money was raised for comic

relief. I hope Andras was paid a

large amount of cash to wear

that hat!

Above, Emma Hodge, in year 8, shows off her

latest tournament medals. Emma took up the

incredibly challenging Taekwando and is now

set to be the youngest girl in London to become

a black belt! Emma says her Art has inspires

people to “Believe in yourself. Have self-

discipline and self-control. Have respect for

yourself and others and most importantly,

challenge yourself and become a better version

of you.” Well said Emma.

Pictured below, are the senior girls team, already

Southern Conference Champions who battled to

the final of the prestigious WEABL final. Sadly, the

girls lost in the final to an accomplished

Charnwood team. However, Coach Sterling (also

pictured) stated he was immensely proud of the

girls for progressing so far.

Celebrating and Awarding

Respect & Responsibility

A Message from Chair of Governors, Antony Smyth Friday 5th April is the last day of Executive Principal Richard Bannister’s eight years guiding our

school. Bryce has already iterated many of Richard’s achievements. He has made an amazing

contribution to the lives of young people in Southwark, for which I thank him sincerely. The new

principal, Mike Baxter, has a great track record and was unanimously regarded as the best

candidate by all involved in the selection process. He has visited often in the past months,

seeking insight, and we look forward to welcoming him into our community and helping to drive

CoLA forward, together with staff, local families and all of our wonderful children and 6th formers.

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Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff and Governors,

Our Year 11 and 13 students have already sat their second round of mock examinations, ahead of the public

examinations next term, and I am particularly impressed by their conduct during the hectic examination period.

Already, many of the students have achieved encouraging results, so we thank all parents and guardians for

supporting your children at home with their studies.

As we embark on the last phase of revision towards the final exams, we are certain that the students will continue

to strive for excellence in pursuit of their dreams and aspirations. However, although Easter holidays provide ideal

time for students to work independently at home - consolidating their hard work done in school - there will be a

range of Easter revision sessions being held in the Academy for Years 11 and 13. Many students who participate

in Easter classes have, in the past, shown significantly better performance than in their mocks. Therefore, it is vital

that as many as possible take advantage of teachers offering their time during the holidays.

I would like to use this opportunity to wish every member of the CoLA community a Happy Easter. My sincere

thanks go to staff and students for their continuous hard work to improve the teaching and learning, across all key

stages, here at the Academy.

And don’t forget! Enjoy the Easter eggs everybody.

Pictured are a group of year 7 students who are

treated to a slap-up breakfast due to their

impeccable behaviour record. It’s wonderful to see

them together smiling, chatting and forming bonds.

CoLA’s new merit awards have proven popular.

The scheme has now become a “Colossus”. As the

superhero badges have gone down a “Storm” with

some students winning a “Fantastic Four” or more.

Finally, we wish outgoing Executive Principal, Richard Bannister, seen above, a happy and healthy retirement!

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CITY OF LONDON

ACADEMY S O U T H W A R K

240 Lynton Road, London SE1 5LA Tel: 020 7394 5100 www.cityacademy.co.uk